I Was With Her For Awhile
by leftmywingshome
Summary: What may have happened if Beth had not been killed in S5 "Coda". Where would her relationship with Daryl have gone?
1. Chapter 1

"I knew you'd be back." Dawn said. Beth let her arms drop and she backed away from Noah. She turned her head towards Dawn with an incredulous look on her face and the dawning realization of what was happening.

"I get it now." Beth said. She reached down and slipped the small pair of scissors from her cast. In one quick motion Beth lunged towards Dawn and stabbed her in the chest. The air around her exploded in sound and light. Beth fell to the linoleum floor while all hell broke loose around her. Daryl raised his pistol and a second shot rang out. His face an expression of pure rage. And then he looked down at Beth crumpled on the the floor and the rage turned to anguish.

There were shouts of "Hold your fire!" And the group created a human wall between him and Beth and the Grady Memorial group. In the turmoil all Daryl saw was Beth. He knelt beside her and reached out and touched her cheek. There was so much blood. He leaned down and took her in his arms. He stood up and glared through tears at the people watching him. The people who had taken her from him. He was oblivious to everything that was going on in the hallway. His group backed up and Daryl looked around. Whatever had happened was over. They were leaving. He looked down at the fragile girl in his arms. His breath caught. Had her eyelashes just fluttered? He put his face down near hers hoping in vain for a warm breath. Rick came up beside him keeping pace with his careful footsteps.

"That bullet hit the wall. We need to get out of here and check her out." He spoke quietly and carefully. "She's not dead." He said. And Daryl believed it.

The walk through the maze of hallways to the doors that led out to the courtyard seemed to take forever. Rick went ahead and hit the crash bar on the metal door. The sun was bright as the group filed out. Rick saw the rest of the group up ahead. Sasha, Carol and Tyreese were followed by Daryl with Beth in his arms and Noah close behind. Rick watched as Maggie struggled to catch sight of her sister and when she did she fell to her knees sobbing. Unsure of what to do the two groups continued towards each other. They came together and surrounded Daryl with Beth in his arms.

"We need to keep moving. Out of this place." Rick seemed intent. No one questioned him. They followed his lead.

"My sister..." Maggie choked on the words. And reached for Daryl's arm.

"Don't." His voice was heavy with emotion. "Not yet." And he kept walking. Michonne moved in by Carol and took her other arm and helped Tyreese walk her towards the vehicles they had waiting. Daryl carried Beth to the Suburban and Rick opened the opened the back. After spreading out sleeping bags he helped Daryl ease her into the car. Maggie pushed forward.

"What's going on? Let me see!" But Daryl and Rick started looking Beth over and ignored Maggie's pleas.

"That bullet didn't enter or exit her body." Rick maintained. Daryl gently turned Beth's head. Softly he brushed her hair aside and he checked the wound on her head. The one they had assumed was fatal. Daryl sucked in his breath and leaned over Beth cradling her head in his arms. He was visibly crying. "Daryl, I got a pulse man." Rick said desperately. Maggie pushed between the two men.

"It's superficial. It ain't nothing but a deep scrape." Daryl sobbed as he continued to cradle her head.

"She's alive? She's alive!" Maggie repeated the words as if to reassure herself.

"Check everything else." Carol said over the back seat. Rick continued checking Beth's extremities. Maggie held her hand checking for a pulse again. Daryl ran his hands over Beth's shoulders and behind her neck. His eyes never left her face.

"I'm glad I didn't say goodbye. I'm not saying goodbye." he whispered softly. Maggie watched him. She put her hand on his arm.

"Beth hates goodbyes." she said. He glanced over at her.

"Me too." Abraham and Rosita walked around the back of the car.

"What's' going on? I think we need to put some distance between us and them." Abraham said. Neither he nor Rosita were sure what was going on with Beth.

"How, how is she?" Rosita asked tentatively.

"She's alive." Rick said, his voice heavy with relief. "Superficial bullet wound, but so far everything else checks out ok."

"Is she able to travel?" Abraham asked.

"Yeah, yeah we'll make her comfortable back here.." Rick started.

"I'm staying back here. I've got her." Daryl said. And that was final. No one was sure how to deal with this new development. Maggie watched him warily.

"Maggie come sit up here. You can still be close." Carol said from her spot in the middle seat.

"Come on." Glen put his hand on Maggie's back. "It's ok." Half of the group were in the fire truck and the other half were here in the suburban. With no destination in mind, just distance, they headed away from Grady Hills.


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl cradled Beth's head in his lap. He wasn't going to leave her side. He'd lost her once, he wouldn't make that mistake twice. She'd forced him to open his heart and she'd climbed inside. This was it. This was the long haul. The others discussed where they were going to go. They asked Carol questions about the hospital. They looked at maps. And Daryl held Beth. He waited for her to open her eyes and reassure him she was okay.

Hours later they took a detour off the main road. Abraham knew of a small town that had been deserted when his group had passed through months before. It hadn't been completely looted at that time and he was hoping not much had changed. Daryl was asleep when they stopped. The back of the suburban opened and Carl stood there holding Judith.

"What happened? Is she gonna be okay?" Carl looked in at Beth. Daryl reached a hand out to the baby and she smiled at him.

"She's gonna be okay." Daryl said quietly.

"Why is she unconscious?"

Daryl smiled. "She tried to go badass." His smile disappeared. "Shots were fired, but they missed her. She fell and hit her head." Carl looked down at Beth as Rick and Maggie walked up.

"We found an apartment above the fire station. There's a bed, blankets, and first aid supplies." Rick told Daryl.

"It's perfect. Let's get her up there. I can clean her up." Maggie said. She moved towards the back of the truck.

"I got her." Daryl said and he gently lifted her into his arms and scooted out of the suburban. He headed towards the fire station and Maggie followed.

Tyreese, Sasha, Noah and Glen searched the main area of town surrounding the fire station for walkers and supplies. Abraham and the others went over the fire station thoroughly to see what they could use. Carol was in the apartment on a couch when Daryl came in carrying Beth followed by Maggie. Michonne was searching a small kitchenette. She watched Daryl lay Beth down on the bed. He wasn't even wearing his crossbow. Daryl never went anywhere without that.

"Let me get one of those first aid kits." he said to no one in particular. Michonne brought one over.

"I have washcloths and water too Daryl." Maggie came over and sat on the bed beside her sister. Daryl reached out to take a washcloth and she jerked her hand back. "I can do it." she said firmly.

"I got it." Daryl replied.

"Let me help my sister!" Maggie yelled. Daryl stared at her for a minute. The room was silent. He put his head in his hands and tugged at his hair. Maggie's gaze softened. "Why don't you hold her head and I'll clean the wound." she said. Daryl took a deep breath and shrugged off his jacket. Maggie watched as he carefully placed his hands on Beth's head. His touched her like she was glass and his expression gave away the fear he was trying so hard to hide. Maggie gently began wiping away the blood. Rick came in and he and Michonne began an inventory of the supplies in the kitchenette. She gave him a knowing look and glanced over at the scene on the bed. "You guys were together since the prison?" Maggie asked. She glanced at Daryl. He nodded.

"Yeah, we were together for a while." He watched Maggie's hands. He was able to see, even more so now, that the wound was not bad. It was nothing like he'd imagined. He knew Maggie must be wondering where they'd been, how they'd spent their time. And why all of a sudden he was so protective of her little sister. "We spent time running and camping. I taught her how to track and use my crossbow." Maggie noticed a ghost of a smile cross his face.

"Turn her head a little." she said. Daryl complied.

"We came across a lot of walkers and she took out her fair share. And she didn't take my shit. She's tough." He brushed his thumb across her forehead. Maggie applied a small packet of antibiotic. "We found this country club, but it turned out to be a bad place. We stayed at another dump in the woods for awhile." Daryl refrained from sharing all the details of their time together. The moonshine and arguments, his breakdown and her arms that she so readily wrapped around him making him feel wanted, giving him hope. Maggie unwrapped gauze and laid it on Beth's head. "The last place we were at was a mortuary. It was cool. We almost thought it could be… But it wasn't. I lost her there. A horde busted in and a car, the assholes from the hospital, they took her. I, I couldn't do anything, nothing. She was gone." Daryl bit his thumbnail and gently stroked Beth's hair.

"It's not your fault." Maggie said. She saw his jaw tense. "I know you're blaming yourself. Don't." He wiped at his eyes.

"I should have protected her." he said through gritted teeth.

"She's still her. With us. With you." Maggie said. She stood up and took the first aid kit. Daryl looked over at Carol.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her. She shrugged.

"I'm good. Just tired." The door to the apartment opened. Abraham walked in followed by Carl and Judith.

"We're gonna meet downstairs. Come up with a game plan." Abraham said. Carol held out her arms to Judith.

"I'll watch her." Carol said.

"Daryl? You coming?" Rick asked looking at Daryl. Daryl looked down at Beth.

"I'll keep an eye on her Daryl. Go, they need your input." He looked at Carol, uncertain. He didn't want to leave Beth. But he wanted to have his say in whatever the group decided.

"Yeah okay." He stood up. Carol smiled at him and nodded. With one last look over his shoulder he joined the group down in the garage.


	3. Chapter 3

It turned out the little town had a lot more resources than anyone would have thought. Tyreese, Sasha, Noah, and Glen had found more supplies than walkers when they cleared the town. The fire department could be made to accommodate them all.

"At least for now. To give Carol and Beth time to heal." Rick had said. But ultimately their plan was to move on.

"I'd like to see what's left of where I came from." Noah said. The others nodded in agreement. They realized the possibly of a sanctuary beyond this temporary place. They decided on watchmen and teams of hunters.

"You've been quiet over there Daryl. What do you think?" Abraham asked.

"I'm staying here." Daryl said.

"He can be home base guard." Rick said.

"I'm staying with Beth." Daryl said. Nobody contradicted him. They continued to discuss ideas for fortifying the fire station and possibly weatherproofing it. The door to the apartment opened and Carol called down the stairs.

"Daryl, come up here!" Carol called. Daryl sprinted up the stairs to the apartment followed closely by Maggie.

"What?" he said gruffly. "What happened?!" Daryl knelt on the floor beside the bed.

"She said your name." Carol said. He touched her face, her hair.

"Beth? I'm here." he whispered.

"Why doesn't she wake up?" Maggie asked.

"Maybe stress. She's been through a tremendous amount of it. Sometimes people just shut down. " Carol said. The baby was napping beside her on the couch.

"I just want her to wake up." Maggie said sitting down beside her on the bed.

"She will. She's got something on her mind." Carol said looking at Daryl knowingly.

The next two days went by quickly. A small horde came through town, but it was easily taken out. Daryl took watch on the firehouse roof a couple of times, but he spent the majority of his time near Beth. He wanted her to see him when she woke up. It was important for him that she know he had been searching for her, that he hadn't given up on her. Carol came in with a basket of vegetables.

"I can't believe this place is almost completely untouched." she said. She put it down and untied the sling that was holding Judith. She put the baby on the floor. "I even found these." She pulled a small bag from the basket and dumped out some legos and blocks and a plastic baby doll. Daryl smiled down at the baby as she reached for the colorful toys. He wandered over to the window. A group was headed out.

"They going to find Noah's place?" Daryl asked. Carol nodded.

"Yeah. Turns out it's not far." Daryl nodded and continued to watch. "Daryl you're going stir crazy here. Go help the others. I'll take care of her." Carol said watching him.

"Nah. I have to stay." he said.

"Well then how about helping me cut up vegetables?" Carol winked at him.

Gunshots. Daryl rolled over thinking he had been dreaming. He sat up on the floor. Carol was rubbing her eyes on the couch and Carl was holding the baby. "That's guns!" Carol said she looked out the window behind her. Daryl headed up to the roof. Maggie and Sasha were already up there with guns and watching the road.

"Is it our guys? They ain't that stupid." Daryl said trying to make out anything in the gloom. Clouds had rolled in early that evening so any hope of light from the moon was impossible. The winds picked up and rain started falling. They headed back down into the garage. Abraham and Rosita had the side door open and with Eugene and Father Gabriel's help they were loading supplies into the fire truck.

"What are you doing?" Maggie asked.

"Preparing to leave if we have to." Abraham said.

"Let's go see if we can head them off." Daryl said adjusting his crossbow.

"I'm with you." Glen said grabbing his knife and gun.

"Four of us. The others stay and keep packing." Daryl said. He looked over at Maggie but he didn't have to say anything.

"I'll go upstairs. It's fine." she said. Daryl, Abraham, Glen, and Rosita slipped out the door into the impending storm.

It didn't take much effort to deter the small group that was on the outskirts of town. They must have killed off all of the walkers that they'd come upon and had spotted the signs on the buildings, "DEAD KEPT HERE" "STAY OUT" "DANGER". They were already headed away from town. A couple more shots were fired off and one ricocheted off the building the group was taking cover beside. It ripped through the arm of Daryl's leather jacket.

"Aww.." he groaned and fell back against the wall. Guns were immediately cocked. "No!" Daryl said in a low voice. "It was a stray. Let's go." He wiped the hair from his eyes. The rain was coming down harder now. His arm was on fire. It was hard to breathe. He staggered and Abraham gripped his good arm and helped him. In the apartment Carol was trying to see what was going on from the window. But it was dark and they had only a candle for light. Beth had been restless and moaning in her sleep. Maggie was trying to console her. The group came into the garage and closed the door. Daryl made his way up the stairs. Right as he opened the door Beth rolled over and opened her eyes. He was the first thing she saw. Just like he wanted, but he was wet and bloody. He stumbled a little, more out of surprise that she was looking up at him than anything else. "Beth!" He went to the bed and she reached for him.

"You're hurt!" she cried and when he sat down she wrapped her arms around him. She was shaking. He cupped her chin in his hand. "You're hurt." she repeated. He stared at her completely lost in her voice and her eyes.

"He got hit by a stray bullet." Abraham said to the others. Carol had already grabbed first aid supplies.

"Daryl take off your jacket." Carol said. He looked at Beth. She raised her hand from his arm and it was covered in blood. She reached out and frantically tried to pull off his jacket.

"Slow up girl. I'm hurting." he breathed. Carol helped him and they got the jacket off. Beth gasped and she pressed her forehead against his chest. He reached up and held her head. "It's just a nick. It ain't nothing." Carol took his arm and started cleaning it with rubbing alcohol. "Ouch woman! That stings." But he didn't pull away. He let her finish. He watched Beth. She seemed to have lost all her energy. She took his hand and laced her fingers through his and laid back on the bed. Maggie sat down next to them. She brushed Beth's cheek with her fingers.

"Are they gone?" Maggie asked Daryl. He nodded. Carl watched from the couch where held Judith in his arms. The others were standing around the small apartment.

"They're gone now. But they know this town is here." Abraham said. Carol finished wrapping Daryl's arm.

"So we need to move." Carol said cleaning up.

"I think so. May be safe to wait for the rest of them, but yeah. We need to be on guard." Abraham headed back downstairs. Daryl looked down at Beth. Her eyes were closed. He squeezed her hand.

"You're okay?" she whispered. Daryl murmured an agreement.

"You okay?" he asked her watching her face.

"Mmmhmm". she mumbled. Her breathing evened out and she let go of his hand. Daryl's arm was throbbing.

"Do we have any aspirin?" he asked Carol.

"Even better. I smuggled out pain killers." she pulled a baggy from her sweater pocket. Daryl stood up and took it. He took a pill and washed it down with a bottle of water on the counter.

"What happened out there?" Carol asked.

"Lost group. Must've got off course or something." he said.

"Not that. With you and her." she said looking at Beth sleeping on the bed. He shrugged. And it hurt his arm. How did he explain their time together? How everything had changed between them. Or at least he thought it had changed. "It's okay. You don't have to try and explain it Daryl. It's good. She got inside of you. Someone needs to be there." she smiled at him. She went to the couch. Carl and Judith we asleep on their pallet on the floor. She covered them up. "Get some sleep." Carol said. Daryl felt dizzy.

"Where?" he asked. He looked at Beth on the bed.

"Go on. You'll both sleep better." Carol said. He blew out all the candles and laid down beside Beth. She sighed in her sleep and he reached for her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Beth opened her eyes. The light filtering through the curtains was early morning. She looked over at Daryl asleep on the bed next to her. Her heart started beating fast. She vaguely remembered last night, being semi awake and Daryl bleeding. She had the ghost of a headache too. She climbed over the top of Daryl and knelt beside the bed next to him. The movement woke him up and he looked at her.

"Hey." he mumbled. And then he really woke up. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"You were hurt. I'm just checking." She looked at his bandaged arm and briefly up at him.

"I'm okay. You were hurt too. You should be resting." Their eyes met.

"You found me." she said quietly.

He turned his head away. "Yeah." The weight of those words sat heavy on his heart. He'd found her after he'd lost her. "I never should've lost you." She climbed back on the bed next to him and laid down facing him so he had to look at her.

"That doesn't matter Daryl." Her eyes were like the sky. He saw a faint bruising on her forehead around the bandaged wound. He reached out with his injured arm and brushed her hair aside. He fingered the cast on her left wrist. His blood from the gunshot the day before stained the edges. If he'd just protected her better none of these injuries would have happened.

"It does matter." he whispered. Her eyes filled with tears that fell softly.

"I thought I'd never see you again. But Noah promised we'd get out and he'd help me find you." she said.

"You were gonna look for me?" She nodded and he bit his lip. He reached out for her and pulled her against him. She pressed her head against his chest and felt his heart beating. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to deal with everything he was feeling. No one had ever made him feel like this.

"I'm not gonna lose you again." he breathed into her hair. She held tight to his t-shirt. And she knew in her heart that she had survived for this. The world may have fallen apart, but something had started back in that little run down shack in the woods.

The door to the apartment opened suddenly. Abraham and Maggie came in. Carol woke up on the couch and Carl patted Judith trying to keep the baby asleep. Abraham looked at Daryl and then Carol.

"We might have company again." he said quietly. Daryl winced as he reached down and felt around for his crossbow with his injured arm. His other arm was wrapped around Beth. And he didn't want to let go of her, but she saw her sister.

"Maggie!" she whispered and she sat up and crawled to the end of the bed. Maggie sat down beside her and hugged her. She looked her sister over carefully and then glanced at Daryl. Beth met her sister's gaze and just shrugged and hugged her again.

"What's going on?" Daryl asked Abraham.

"Rosita and Tara were on watch on the roof and the spotted a group headed into town on the backside." Carol moved away from the window and adjusted the curtain.

"How many?" Daryl asked.

"Looks to be about six of them as far as the girls could tell." Abraham said.

"They're about 10 minutes out. We need to be ready to leave in a hurry." Maggie said. She looked at Beth. "Can you go?"

Beth nodded. "I can if I have to." She looked at Daryl.

"She'll be good. I got her." he said.

"What about you Carol?" Abraham asked the woman who was now packing things up in the kitchen.

"I'm ready. What are we waiting for?" she asked.

"We're hoping they are just passing through." Abraham said. Daryl was up and pulling on his boots and jacket.

"But they could be another group scouting after the one yesterday." he said. "Stay away from the windows."

"Carl take Judith downstairs." Maggie said.

"Nah give her here" Daryl reached for the baby and he held her to his chest. "If they come in they're gonna be downstairs first. If there's trouble, Carl, Beth, Carol and lil ass kicker lock the doors and head to the roof."

"Daryl, I.. " Beth started. She wanted to help, he knew that.

"No you're still weak, both of you are. I'm not doing it. I'm not losing anyone again." His eyes met Beth's.

"Let's go see what's going on." Abraham said. Carl took Judith. Maggie followed Abraham out. Daryl started to leave with them.

"Daryl." Beth said his name. He stopped and watched her walk over to him. She just looked up at him and then stepped in to hug him. When she let go he looked her in the eyes.

"The roof. Promise me." he said. She nodded.

"I promise. And you, come back, promise me." He just nodded. And went the way the others had. Daryl would never make a promise he might not be able to keep. And coming back was never a for sure deal.

Although they spent half of the day tracking the other group, the roof turned out to be unnecessary. The strangers must have been deterred by the same signs the last group had seen. Or they were biding their time. Beth watched out the window as the others came back slowly, trying to stay in the shadows so they weren't seen by the group passing through.

"They're coming back." she said. She'd spent most of the day at the window looking for the group. Mainly watching and waiting for Daryl to come back. Carl joined her at the window.

"That's good. I hope." he said.

"What if that group were from the hospital?" her breathing quickened.

"They're leaving Beth. And Abraham's coming back. And Daryl." Carl said. Beth looked at him and then she looked at Carol. Did they know that all she wanted was for Daryl to come back safe?

"Yeah I know." she said. They just needed to get here. She moved away from the window, her eyes on the door. Proximity says a lot about two people. Just the way they position themselves when they are in the same room together speaks volumes about their feelings. Daryl came through the door first when usually he'd be last after he made sure everyone else was in. He came in and when he saw Beth he visibly relaxed. He walked over and stood near her.

"Daryl what if it's the people from the hospital?" she said quietly. He wanted to put his arms around her.

"It is. They've got a bus on the other side of town." Daryl said. Beth looked terrified.

"They're looking for me." she said as Maggie, Abraham and the others walked in. She didn't know yet exactly what had happened in the hallway at the hospital.

"No." Daryl moved to her side.

"Yes! Why else would they be here?" her voice had a panicked edge to it. She squeezed the cast on her wrist.

"Beth they think you're dead. They ain't lookin for you." Daryl said. Beth looked at Maggie. Maggie nodded.

"There was a shooting." she said gently. Beth shook her head.

"I remember a gunshot and scissors, in my cast." Daryl moved closer to her.

"I killed that bitch and then I carried you out. They thought you were dead. I, I thought you were.." he didn't finish. She looked into his eyes. She could see he was hurting. That explained all the guilt he was carrying. She wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

"Nothing to be sorry about. I got you back and no one's gonna take you again." He held her. It was an intimate moment and they both seemed to remember they were surrounded by everyone and they separated. Rosita stepped up next to Abraham.

"It looks like they are planning to stay." she said.

"What's our plan?" Sasha asked from the doorway of the apartment.

"We can't just leave my dad and the rest of them." Carl said.

"We can head their direction. Meet up with them." Abraham said.

"Wait what if they aren't coming back yet or they we're forced to come back a different way?" Maggie asked.

"We're gonna be found out pretty quick. We have to decide what's safer. We can leave a note. Something only they will understand." Rosita said.

"We only have the fire truck." Carol said.

"Some of us are gonna have to go on foot first. Head towards the road." Daryl looked around at them. "Others need to create a diversion so we can the fire truck out of here." Eugene stepped forward.

"A fire. I'll start a fire." Everyone stared at him.

"That could work." Abraham nodded.

"I'll go on foot with a group. You can take at least five with you on the truck." Daryl said.

"We can meet at the road where we turned off coming into town. Eugene you can get back to us?" Rosita nodded.

"I will do my best to, yes." he said. Daryl looked around the room.

"Carol, Judith, Father, Rosita and Beth…" he began.

"No." Beth said. She was shaking her head. "I'm not leaving you." She had tears in her eyes. Daryl didn't look at her.

"You're safer on the damn truck Beth." he said halfheartedly.

"I'm safer with you." She stood in front of him so he had to see her. He might be a good leader and make the best decisions for the group, but Beth wasn't just going to sit quiet this time and let him call the shots. He looked at her and nodded. It didn't matter if he felt like he'd failed her before. He wasn't going to be able to walk away from her now.

"Let's get moving." Abraham said. Daryl grabbed his crossbow while Beth put on her jacket and backpack. Daryl reached under the pillows on the bed and found Beth's knife. It had been his, but Beth had taken it back when they were together after the prison fell apart.

"Here. Put this on." He handed it to her. All around them the others were quietly getting all the could together. Carol followed Carl downstairs and it was just Daryl and Beth. He adjusted his crossbow and looked at her. "You ready?" he asked and she nodded. He walked over to her never breaking eye contact. He cupped her chin in his hand. She felt him shaking as he leaned forward and put his forehead against hers. "Stay with me. No matter what." he whispered. His eyes lingered on her lips and he bit his bottom lip. She'd figured out that nervous tick by now. And she watched the spot where his teeth left an indent, looked back into his eyes and nodded.

"We're.." Maggie came through the doorway. She looked at Beth and then at Daryl. "Um, we're ready to go." she said. she smiled a little at the blush that spread on her sister's face. Heat radiating from her cheeks she followed Maggie out the door. Daryl took one last look at the apartment and closed the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was beginning to go down and with all the trees the early evening shadows would help to camouflage the group as they made their way to the road. They were taking a chance heading out without knowing where Rick and the rest of the group were with their only other source of transportation. But they could ride on top of the firetruck if they were forced to. The plan for the fire diversion had already been worked out and Eugene was on his way.

"Where's Father Gabriel?" Daryl asked.

"He decided to help Eugene." Rosita said. Daryl looked at Abraham. Had that been the best decision? Father Gabriel was skittish and not good with walkers.

"He wanted to do something." Abraham said. Daryl just shrugged. Carol and Judith were already in the cab of the firetruck. "We got all we can take stuffed in the rig." Abraham said.

"Ok. We'll meet you out at the main road. We'll do our best to get there first. "Daryl said.

"Alright. When you hear the explosion, go." Abraham said climbing into the cab.

Daryl stood against the wall of the fire station. The firetruck shielded them. He looked down the line. Beth, Carl, Maggie and Sasha . All ready, weapons in hand. Beth's eyes met his. Across town and explosion lit up the sky and the engine on the rig fired up. Daryl grabbed Beth's hand and they headed across the street into a copse of dark trees. They ran and didn't look back to see what was happening with the firetruck and the others. It was easy going for them. They anticipated each other's moves and stayed together. So far their journey had been walker free. After about 10 minutes of running Daryl slowed down. Their destination was about 7 miles out. But they were taking the most direct route. Daryl reached into his pack and pulled out a water bottle. He handed it to Beth.

"Drink." he said. It was already pretty dark and he had a hard time seeing her face. "You good?" he asked.

"I'm fine." she sounded a little breathless. And in fact she felt winded but she didn't say anything. She refused to let him see her as weak right now. Not when she needed to be strong. The others drank water too.

"Daryl- up ahead." Carl pointed. Daryl could still see through the trees. It was a walker. Alone. And it was right in their path.

"I got it." Sasha went ahead and it took it out.

"Let's get moving." Daryl said. They picked up the pace and were at a steady run. Beth kept up with him the entire time. Carl tripped over a fallen log, but was back on his feet in seconds. It was completely dark now. They slowed down a little to avoid falling. After a few minutes though, there was a light through the trees. They heard the engine of the firetruck. There was another set of headlights next to it. The suburban? "Hold up." Daryl said. "Let's go in slow." Beth reached out and put her hand on his arm. She was taking deep breaths. "You okay?" he asked. She nodded.

"I just need a minute." He squeezed her hand. His arm was throbbing so he could only imagine how she felt. They moved slowly towards the lights of the vehicles. It was the others with the suburban and the firetruck. They separated and climbed into the vehicles. Maggie sat with Glenn and Noah in the middle seat. "Daryl, I want to get in the back. I'm kinda tired ok?" Beth said. Sasha opened the front passenger door and Michonne let her get in the middle. Daryl opened the back and he and Beth climbed in.

"Is everyone here? Eugene? Father Gabriel?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah they caught up with the firetruck not to far out. They said the explosion was a good distraction. There weren't many Grady Hills people. Probably just a search party looking for survivors." Rick said as he followed the firetruck out onto the highway. "How are you Beth?" he called back. There was no answer. Daryl looked over and saw Beth's head leaning against the window.

"She's asleep." he said. He reached over and eased her down onto his outstretched legs. Just like before. After the hospital. He felt awkward and unsure of himself, but he did it anyway.

"I'm okay." she mumbled.

"Just go to sleep. I got you." he said softly.

"You know you really need a white horse Mr. Dixon. You keep coming to my rescue." she sighed and relaxed against him. A tiny smile touched his lips. The car's movement soothed him and he leaned his head back against the window. For a moment there was peace. These were the only things left to hold onto. Little moments.

They weren't in control of anything. What little control they had was fleeting. It wasn't safe to stay in one place for too long. It wasn't safe to hold onto one person for too long. Because things could be taken away and they were. Survival was first and foremost. But just surviving would make you cold and hard. It would take away your soul. The world was filled with the soulless now. It seemed if anything, this was what they should fight to hold onto. Their connections with each other.

"Where we headed?" Daryl asked. There was only the sound of the car for a moment. They'd lost the light of hope for answers in DC with Eugene's confession. But it had still been a possibility some of them had wanted to explore. Noah's town had been overrun with walkers and the group had felt that it was not worth the effort to try and do anything with it. They'd helped Noah take care of his loved ones that were left. That was all they could do.

"I feel like we should still head towards DC. It's a destination and we don't have anything." Michonne's voice wavered in the darkness. She knew Rick wasn't sold on the idea yet.

"It's as good a place as any Daryl stretched and leaned his head against the window again. Right now the best place was here in this car with his family, with Beth and whatever they were or might be.


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl woke up to Beth tossing and turning. She was whimpering. He put his hand on her cheek. She was burning up.

"Jesus Beth!" He sat her up.

"I'm not okay Daryl." she whimpered.

"I know. You got a fever." He moved over and laid her down flat against the backseat.

"What's wrong?" Maggie turned around in the seat in front of them.

"She's burning up, fever. Where's that damn water bottle?!" Daryl rummaged through his bag and pulled out the bottle. "Can you sit up? You need to drink this." She struggled to sit up and he held the bottle to her lips. She took two big swallows.

"Better" she breathed.

"It was too soon to push her that hard." Daryl said angrily, more at himself than anyone else. Maggie and Glenn watched Daryl closely. There had been a huge shift in the dynamic of the relationship between Beth and Daryl ever since the shooting at Grady Hills. Maggie figured it had started even before that when the two of them had been alone for so long. She worried about her sister. Daryl was a lot older and unpredictable and still a bit of a mystery. Maggie considered him family but she'd never imagined him involved with her little sister. He seemed fiercely protective of Beth though. And this group was important to him.

"There's antibiotics and aspirin on the truck." Glenn said. Rick pulled over and Abraham followed. At some point Rick had taken the lead in the suburban. When they stopped Glenn jumped out to grab the meds and people started switching places. Carl came to the suburban and Sasha went to join Tyreese on the firetruck. Glenn handed Maggie a plastic bag full of medicine.

"Let's give her aspirin first." Maggie said. She handed Daryl the pills and he gave them to Beth with more water.

"Damn she's shivering now!" He rubbed her arms trying to heat her up. He grabbed the sleeping bags and tucked them around her.

"We good to go?" Rick called back.

"Yeah." Daryl said. "Ain't you supposed to sweat a fever out?" Daryl mumbled. Maggie overheard him.

"I've heard that." she said.

Daryl sat back and stretched out his legs. He lifted Beth up. "Come on girl. Come sit closer." He put Beth between his legs and piled the sleeping bags on top of both of them. She shivered and he heard her teeth chattering. He felt helpless. She had that power over him. What was he going to do to fix this? Illness was a threat because if it worsened and she died she'd change. She could just be worn out though. She'd been through a lot. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest. It wasn't going to get that far, he wouldn't let it. The engine motor was the only sound as they kept driving in the darkness of the night.

Daryl woke up covered in Beth and blankets and sweating. They were pulling over to the side of the road again.

"What's going on?" he asked. He shifted Beth.

"I'm not sure Abraham signaled for us to stop." Glenn said. He and Rick got out and walked back to the firetruck. Daryl watched the mist in the trees on the side of the road, always alert for danger. Beth moved against him.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Don't know. We stopped for a minute. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"It's hot." She kicked off the blankets. She looked around and realized she was on Daryl's lap and in his arms. She held her breath.

"Trying to sweat out that fever." he said quietly. He suddenly felt self conscious and fully aware of the fact that he hadn't asked her if she was okay with him holding her this way. He hadn't really had the chance. He dropped his hands from her arms. She reached down and pulled them back up around her. An unspoken agreement that this way okay with her. Rick and Glenn came walking back over to the suburban.

"Judith has a fever too. We need to find a place to lay low for a few days. We can't risk this." Rick said. Everyone agreed.

"There have been a few mailboxes along the road. Maybe there's a house we can use." Michonne said.

"Possibly. It's a long shot." Rick said.

"Everything is a long shot." she said glancing at him from under the braids that fell across her face. Rick put the car into gear.

"Ok. Fine. Carl you see it, you call it." Rick said. Carl sat up and started scanning the road.

"Make sure it's big." Daryl said.

"With a fence." Maggie added.

"And a garden." Noah said. Everyone looked at him. "What? I miss fresh vegetables." he said. Carl watched the mailboxes pass by. It was getting lighter. Trees lined a drive up ahead.

"There. Try that one." he said. Rick turned on to the dirt road. It wound through a large amount of trees. Once they were finally able to see what was waiting they found a huge old farm house. It was newer than Maggie and Beth's had been, but not by much. A couple of the front windows were broken out and the front door was open. There was a huge shop off to the right of the house. It was all shut up with chains and pad locks. They stopped between the shop and house. The others pulled in behind them.

"Let's check it out. Carefully." Rick said. He and Michonne got out with their weapons in their hands.

Daryl moved Beth off of him. "What are you doing?" she mumbled. He opened the back of the suburban and climbed out. He reached in and grabbed his crossbow.

"Making sure it's safe." he said. She sat up and looked around watching him walk away from the car. The others in the firetruck were already checking out the house. "Carl stay with her ok?" Daryl called over his shoulder. Carl nodded and looked at Beth. She rolled her eyes. He just shrugged his shoulders. She needed to feel better so she could pull her own weight. The groups did a sweep of the house and surrounding areas. There were no walkers in or around the house. The shop had walkers inside. They could hear them. That must have been why it was chained up and pad locked. Carol got out of the firetruck and carried Judith over to the back of the suburban where Beth and Carl sat waiting and watching.

"Hey Beth how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Kind of worthless right now." Beth said looking at her cast. "Is she sick?" Beth asked looking at Judith. "I heard them talking." Carol laid the baby in the back of the car.

"She has a fever and she's extra fussy. It could just be teething. That's what I'm hoping." Carol said. Beth touched Judith's head and smiled at her.

"Something is wrong! They're running back from the shop!" Carl's voice was filled with fear. From their places in the suburban they saw the group that had been checking that area headed their way, fast. Carol handed Carl the baby.

"I'm gonna start the truck! Beth get this thing started!" Beth climbed out of the back of the suburban and into the driver's seat. Carl was already in the backseat with Judith. Beth was dizzy and shaky but she managed to start the car. She watched the others fight their way through a crowd of walkers. They must have broken through the locks on the shop. Maggie, Glenn, Rick, Michonne were in the middle of them. She heard yelling from her other side and saw Sasha and Tyreese climb onto the firetruck. Carol started backing the fire truck up. Beth didn't take the suburban out of park. Rick made it to the car.

"Get us moving Beth!" he yelled sliding into the passenger seat.

"Where's Daryl?" Beth screamed. Michonne jumped into the back followed by Maggie and Glenn.

"He's side of the shop!" Michonne said breathlessly. The firetruck was in front of them already headed down the drive. Beth switched gears and stepped on the gas. She passed the shop watching closely as she drove. Daryl rounded the corner and she slammed on the breaks. He climbed in the back and slammed the door.

"Go!" he yelled. Knowing he was there and safe she took off. It was dusty and the dirt road was bumpy, but she glanced in the mirror and found his eyes. He nodded slightly. Behind them a huge horde struggled along trying to follow the lights and noise from the vehicles, but they were faster and soon they were back on the road, the house far behind. They'd been driving for at least 20 minutes. The shop had not been completely secured and when the walkers caught their scent it had been chaos. Michonne had a gash in her arm from a broken board. Maggie was patching it up. Rick voiced his concern over it a couple of times.

"I'm fine Rick." she said.

"I just don't want an infection." he said. The two shared a look in the awkward silence. Daryl leaned over the front seat.

"Pull over." he said to Beth.

"We need to keep driving, keep moving." Rick said.

"Then you fucking drive! Pull over now Beth!" Daryl said again. He was angry. Rick looked at him like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Beth did what he told her too. Rick got out and moved to the driver's seat and Daryl climbed in the passenger's seat next to Beth. He took her shaking hands in his and now that he was here next to her, she broke down. She leaned against him and sobbed. "Hey it's okay." he mumbled. All the anger from seconds ago gone. She looked up at him and slammed her fists weakly into his chest.

"I thought you were.. I thought I lost you." she cried. He took his head in her hands and looked into her eyes.

"It hurts don't it?" he said gently, but with a hint of anguish behind his words. Beth made the connection immediately.

"I'm gonna be sick." she said. Daryl opened the passenger door and Beth leaned across his lap and threw up. He rubbed her back and when she sat up he pulled a water bottle from his pack. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "We're even now Daryl Dixon." He chuckled and pulled her ponytail. They both suddenly noticed the silence in the vehicle and the fact that they weren't moving.

"Why the hell ain't we driving Grimes? I thought you wanted to keep moving?" Beth glanced at Daryl. His face was red. She fingered her cast. They'd heard everything. Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne and Carl. If they hadn't already figured out something was going on between her and Daryl, they knew now Beth thought. She wasn't really sure she knew herself exactly what that was, but if loving someone was supposed hurt like hell sometimes then she must be in love.


	7. Chapter 7

They drove half the day before they found another place to stop. Beth slept with her head in Daryl's lap the entire time. At first it made Daryl uncomfortable because Rick kept glancing over at him. Then he just ignored Rick altogether because Beth needed to sleep. He certainly hadn't wanted her to fall asleep with her face in his lap. He wouldn't let his mind wander where it could have. This was Beth. She deserved more than an old guy's dirty thoughts. He pushed the "old guy" image to the back of his mind. He'd confront that when he had too. Carl had seen the mail box hidden in the trees. A road led up around a curve through the trees. Abraham pulled the firetruck off the road onto a flat area between the trees at the bottom of the drive. Those that didn't ride up in the suburban scouted around the winding road. There was a cabin, stone and logs, old thick glass windows. It was surrounded by a fence. It looked like someone had just packed up and left it, locking everything before leaving. Or maybe it was a summer place no one had made it back to after the world had fallen apart. The yard was overgrown. Leaves were piled on the roof.

"It looks empty." Michonne said.

"Looks can be deceiving." Daryl said.

"We should check it out. It has a fence." Carl said. Rick stopped the suburban and put it in park. The bumpy ride up had already woken up those who were sleeping. Except Beth. She sat up now, rubbing her eyes. Daryl watched her. She looked like a little girl. Messy ponytail, dirty t-shirt. Until she stretched and he saw the curve of her body underneath that dirty t-shirt. She must have felt his eyes on her because she looked at him. He smirked.

"Feeling better Sleeping Beauty?" he teased. Carl leaned over the seat.

"How cute! Daryl Dixon flirting!" he said and dodged Daryl's hand as he reached out to slap the boy. Carl jumped out of the suburban and Daryl followed grabbing his crossbow. Beth turned and saw Maggie sliding across the back seat.

"What are you doing Beth?" she asked and the question was loaded with words unspoken.

"Living Maggie. I'm living. I survived didn't I?" Beth slid out of the car and stretched her legs. The group was making their way around the perimeter of the cabin that was surrounded by the fence. The overgrowth and dust pretty much made it clear that the place was empty. And it had been for some time. Daryl was the first to find a way over the fence with help from Tyreese and Glenn. At about 8 ft. the fence was meant to keep out predators. Whoever built it probably had never had walkers in mind. Beth watched Daryl closely through the foliage, but he was careful, always on guard and a true tracker.

"I think I got a gate key." he called out. On the porch behind a post high up on a hook were padlock keys. Daryl brought them down and they worked on the small front gate. Maggie, Carol, Judith and Beth went into the yard. Glenn followed behind.

"Let's check the house before everyone gets comfortable." he said. He and Daryl started circling around it in opposite directions. Maggie climbed the porch stairs and looked in the windows. She rattled the doorknob. Daryl came around the corner just then. He reached up above Maggie's head on the door sill and pulled down a key covered in cobwebs.

"My brother always hid the key up here cause I couldn't reach it it. So if my dad was passed out I'd have to wait for Merle to come home. Brotherly love." Daryl muttered. He jiggled the key in the lock and finally got the door open. The cabin was dusty, but neat and orderly. There was home made furniture and linens. No electric lights which didn't matter. A big stone fireplace and a wood burning stove in the kitchen. There were two bedrooms on the ground floor and a huge loft that was almost the square footage of the house with bunk beds and a couple of single beds. It was definitely a rustic vacation place. It was perfect for them to stay in for awhile. It would be close quarters, but safe. The women immediately started cleaning up and organizing.

"Domesticated even in the apocalypse." Carol said. Beth sat Judith on the floor in front of the fireplace. She handed the baby a pinecone that was sitting on the mantle. She smiled watching the baby explore the pine cone.

"Come check this out." Daryl came up behind her. She followed him down a short hallway behind the kitchen. It led to a rustic bathroom.

"Well it looks functional." Beth said missing hot water and flushing toilets.

"Watch." Daryl said. He pumped a lever on the wall that was attached to a pulley contraption positioned right where the shower head would be. Beth heard water. "Pull that chain." He pointed to a chain on the wall. She did it and the bucket tipped spilling brown, grainy, water into the tub below.

"Wow!" she said. After a few more pumps the water was coming out pretty clear. Laughing Beth kicked off her boots and jumped in the tub fully dressed. "Do it again!" Daryl pumped more water and Beth pulled the chain. She was drenched by a bucket of cold, but basically clean water. "Give me the soap and towels! I call first shower!"

The shower was definitely the highlight of the afternoon. There were plenty of bath towels and bars of soap. A huge basket held old hotel soaps, shampoos and lotions that must have been collected for years. Everyone got a shower and the cabin got wiped down with the damp towels. The firetruck was unloaded into the suburban and left disabled at the bottom of the hill. Another big gate around the back of the cabin made it possible to pull the suburban in and secure it. After they found the shower together in the bathroom Daryl disappeared. Beth tried nonchalantly looking for him and once or twice she caught a glimpse of him coming or going, but she felt like he was keeping his distance. It wasn't a good feeling. He had constantly been by her side since she'd woken up after the shooting and to have him suddenly not there made her anxious. Carol, Sasha and Noah were in the kitchen coming up with a meal. Michonne, Abraham and Rick were on the front porch. Some were in the loft, others in the yard. Beth peeked in the bathroom. Maggie and Glenn were giving Judith a bath.

"Come watch Beth! She's so cute!" Maggie said. Beth smiled.

"I will, in a minute." She slipped out the back door. Clean hair, clean clothes, clean skin, made her feel vulnerable. Carl was on the back porch cleaning his gun. He looked up at Beth. Then he pointed. Beth saw a gate at the back of the yard.

"We found a stream." That was all he offered. Beth went out the gate and made her way through the trees. She had her knife on and her good hand on it. She tried to step lightly and watch for the path Daryl had taken. She could hear running water, she thought. The trees opened up into a clearing and there was a stream. Daryl was standing by it facing away from her.

"What are you doing outside the fence?" he asked without turning around. How did he know it was her?

"I, I hadn't seen you, I just wanted too.." she felt awkward and dumb. He turned and looked at her. His face softened and he smiled.

"I'm looking for dinner." She walked up to him.

"I have my knife." she cringed. She sounded like a little kid eager to please.

"Beth don't go out without me, or someone." he said looking out over the stream.

"I won't go out without you. But Carl he pointed and.." she glanced at him. He was clean. His t-shirt wasn't ripped and covered in blood like usual. He reached out a hand to her and she took it lacing her fingers through his. They stood beside the stream.

"This place might be good for awhile." he said making small talk. Beth got right to the point.

"It makes me uneasy. You've been with me since, since the hospital. And I…." Beth stammered as she tried to put into words what she was feeling. He let go of her hand and leaned down and trailed his fingers in the water. Beth sighed. Rick came through the trees. He nodded at Beth.

"Daryl we're gonna map out a scouting plan later. Put together groups." Rick said.

"Going out in the morning?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah." Rick said. Beth watched the two men for a minute and then turned back towards the cabin. Daryl saw her leaving. He knew what she had been trying to say to him. He just wasn't sure what to do with all he was feeling. The fact was he really didn't want to be without her though. He couldn't just let her walk away.

"Hold up Beth." he jogged over to her. "The fireplace, there's a pullout bed, a couple, I think. You want to stay there with me tonight?" he said quietly. Beth looked at him and nodded. He rubbed his chin. She turned and kept on towards the cabin. But there was a small smile on her face.

Beth went back into the cabin and put her and Daryl's backpacks on the couch in front of the stone fireplace. Judith started crying from one of the bedrooms.

"Can you get her Beth? I'm making biscuits." Carol called from the kitchen.

"Biscuits? This is just too weird.." Beth mumbled. Judith was in a portable playpen in one of the two bedrooms. She was sitting up. Her cheeks were shiny and red. "Oh sweet girl." Beth crooned. She picked her up. The baby was burning up. Beth laid her on the bed and checked her diaper and did a full body check. The baby had a rash on the inside of her thighs that was hot and bumpy. Beth finished dressing her and walked into the kitchen. She patted Judith's back to soothe her. "Carol she has a fever again. And a rash." Carol had on a red checked apron and flour on her hands. Rosita was braiding Tara's hair at the table. Everything was normal and that felt completely wrong.

 **** Kind of a boring chapter I know! -housekeeping- Thank you for all the follows! I am having a blast writing this!**


	8. Chapter 8

By the end of the day their biggest concern was Judith's fever and its cause. Any type of infection or illness was dangerous. Beth and Maggie bathed her again and gave her more baby aspirin. She fell asleep before dinner. Beth was laying her down in the playpen when Rick came in.

"She asleep?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm. She feels cooler too. We think it's probably her teeth." Beth stood up and looked at Rick.

"Thanks for taking care of her." he said. "No problem Rick. She's no trouble." Beth smiled. Rick continued to look at her. Beth was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Well I better…" she started to say.

"Hey Beth I wanted to talk to you." Rick said.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I know something has kind of started between you and Daryl. And well I think that your dad would want me to…" Beth held out her hand.

"Rick I.."

"No just listen. Daryl is a good man. He's my brother." Rick said. "You two are just so different.." Beth shook her head.

"No. We really aren't. In fact we're more alike than anyone could ever guess. Besides age. And that isn't even a factor worth mentioning." She started to leave the room. "But thank you for thinking of my dad and for being concerned about me." She headed out and back to the kitchen. Carol had put together a stew and half the group was in there eating. Daryl looked at Beth from across the room then he glanced towards the bedroom where Rick was. She just shrugged. Suddenly the back door burst open. Abraham came in followed closely by Rosita and Eugene.

"We got a horde down by the firetruck. We're concerned with the size and the fact that they might be being herded towards us." he said. Everyone went into action. Beth went for her knife in her backpack. Daryl grabbed her arm.

"No. Not yet." he said looking at her.

"I need to help!" Beth said jerking her arm away.

"Please Beth. This is the last time I'll ask you. Stay for me." Daryl pleaded and Beth relented because the look in his eyes scared her. She nodded and he headed towards the back door. Rick was giving Carol and Eugene instructions.

"Daryl wait." Beth walked over to him. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him on the cheek. "Come back." she whispered. He looked at her and backed out the door. Rick followed with Carl close behind him. The cabin was suddenly quiet. "We're alone?" Beth asked. She turned and looked at Carol and Eugene.

"Father Gabriel is on a lookout that we constructed in the tree. But otherwise we are currently alone." Eugene looked nervous. Carol was closing the wooden shutters on the windows. She barred the front door. Beth peeked in at Judith. She was still asleep. Beth strapped her knife on.

"I'll get the loft windows." She climbed the stairs into the loft. There were four windows total. She shuttered up three and the fourth one that looked out over the back of the cabin drew her attention. In the tree where she assumed Father Gabriel was keeping lookout, a small light was flashing. "What the hell?" Beth slammed the shutters and took off down the stairs and headed for the back door. It was already closed and locked. Beth struggled with it.

"Beth! What are you doing?" Carol hissed.

"Let me out! He's flashing a light!" Beth said. She got the door open and took off across the yard towards the tree. A crude ladder had been constructed to reach the upper branches. Beth scurried up it and knocked a small flashlight from the Father's hands. "What are you doing?!" Beth tried to keep her voice down.

"You broke it!" Father Gabriel said trying to see the flashlight in the dark.

"It looked like you were signaling someone!" Beth said. Carol was on the ground below them.

"What's going on Beth?" she called up trying to be quiet.

"I saw him flashing a light. It looked like a signal." Beth said.

"Why do you have that light? You're a lookout, you can't draw attention to yourself!" Carol said.

"Get out of the tree!" Beth said pulling on his jacket,

"Stop it!" he said. Beth kept tugging on his jacket.

"Father Gabriel just come down. Eugene can take over." Carol said.

"No! I was told to take this post." he said.

"I don't trust you!" Beth yelled no longer caring if she was quiet.

"Stop it! Get off me!" Father Gabriel pushed Beth and she slipped and fell. She landed at the base of the tree and her head slammed into the tree trunk. Carol pulled out her gun.

"Get down!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry Beth, so sorry!" He scrambled down the from tree. He tried to reach out to Beth, but she pushed him away and tried to stand up. Her head was pounding and she felt a wave of nausea. Leaning against the tree she threw up.

"Beth, are you ok?" Carol kept the gun on the Father and tried to see Beth.

"I'm ok. Get him inside." She followed Carol back into the cabin. Eugene had lit one lantern. His eyes went to Carol's gun.

"What's the problem?"

"He was signaling with a flashlight." Carol said.

"I wasn't! It was just to help me see!" Father Gabriel whined.

"We'll figure that out later. I'm gonna tie you up until the others come back." Carol said. She went to hand off the gun to Beth. "Beth you're bleeding!" Beth touched the bandage on her forehead.

"It's ok. Tie him up and then you can help me." She took Carol's gun and held it on Father Gabriel. She wiped blood from above her eye with her cast. She winced at the sharp pain.

"It's not what you.." Father Gabriel started.

"You pushed me out of that tree! Just shut up!" Beth waved the gun at him. Carol pulled out rope and secured his legs and arms to the wooden chair. Eugene watched nervously. Once she was done Carol turned to Beth.

"Lets check out your head." she told her. She moved the lantern to the table and Beth sat on the table. Carol brought over the first aid kit.

"Eugene can you be a lookout?" Beth asked.

"Yes I can try. Do I need to climb the tree?"

"No just stay on the back porch." Carol told him. He headed out the backdoor. Carol gently removed the bandage from Beth's head. The wound from the shooting had been healing nicely. "It looks like you opened up one side of the old wound. " Carol told her.

"It hurts." Beth said.

"And this will sting. Sorry." Carol cleaned it with an antiseptic and put a butterfly bandage on under neath a new bigger gauze patch and taped it all up. "I think that should hold." she said.

"Thanks Carol." Beth said. She slid off the table. "What are we gonna do about him?" Beth said referring to Father Gabriel.

"Wait for the others and see." Carol said. "You're sure of what you saw?" Carol asked quietly. Beth nodded.

"He pushed me out of that tree Carol. If he had nothing to hide why would he do that?"

It was no use trying to see anything out the windows in the dark. Beth paced the cabin, her nerves a mess.

"I should've gone to help. He treats me like I can't do anything! He taught me how to use his damn crossbow!" Beth muttered to herself. Carol smiled in the dark.

"He almost lost you Beth. He's just scared." Beth's voice softened.

"He can't keep me locked up forever." she said. She sat on the couch beside their backpacks. Her head hurt and she couldn't get rid of the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was how it was going to be now every time Daryl went out. She had a new found respect for Maggie. But at least Maggie was usually with Glenn. Beth must have fallen asleep because she woke up with her head on Daryl's backpack and a blanket covering her. Carol was on the other couch. "It's been hours. What if they ran into trouble?" Beth asked. Carol was silent.

"First light we'll come up with a plan." she said. Carol looked worried too. They heard footsteps and Eugene opened the back door. Maggie and Glenn came in looking tired and dirty.

"Finally! What happened out there?" Carol asked.

"Where is everyone else? We've been worried." Beth said.

"Beth what happened to your head?" Maggie put her stuff down and walked over to her sister. Beth pointed at Father Gabriel tied to the chair. Just then Rick, Michonne and Carl came in.

"What's going on?" Rick demanded when he saw Father Gabriel. The room was in chaos as Carol tried to explain to everyone what had happened. Beth kept glancing at the door. She made her way over to Carl.

"Where is he?" she asked. Carol looked at her and glanced up at the bandage on her head. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know Beth. We all split up after we took out the first horde by the firetruck. I haven't seen him but he'll be back." Carl said. Rick came up to her.

"Are you ok? What the hell happened?"

"I'm fine. I just saw him with that light and it was suspicious. And then the way he acted, he pushed me Rick! I don't trust him." She rubbed her arms. Rick hugged her.

"We'll handle it."

"Rick where's Daryl?" Beth asked and she tried to sound strong, but her voice broke.

"He split off from us. I really didn't see anyone except Michonne and Carl. We had our groups. But he's fine Beth. He'll be back." Rick told her.

"But you can't promise that." she said.

"No I can't." She looked at the floor as he walked away. All around her the rest of the group were cleaning up, shedding grimy clothes, showering, and eating. Beth picked up towels and pumped water for dishes. She helped Michonne re-bandage her arm where she'd been injured at the farmhouse the day before. And she answered question after question about Father Gabriel. As daylight broke Abraham, Rosita and Sasha and Tyreese came in followed by Tara. Tyreese was limping. Beth watched the door.

"Here let me move these." Beth grabbed her and Daryl's backpacks and moved them to a corner, She reached into hers and grabbed her gun. She checked the chamber for bullets and put more in her pocket. She zipped the bag shut and dropped it. She tucked the gun into the back of her jeans and underneath the the flannel she had on over her white blood splattered t-shirt. She grabbed her jacket and slowly made her way to the back door. No one paid any attention to her as she slipped out. Eugene watched her as she closed the door gently.

"Are you leaving?" he asked loudly startling Beth. She took a deep breath.

"Oh no, I'm, um just walking the fence Eugene. Rick asked me too." Beth lied.

"Would you like my help?" he asked.

"Oh no. I can do it. I need to help somehow." she smiled.

"Okay. Well you call if you need me." he said.

"I'm covered." she patted her knife. She took off down the stairs and went out the back gate and headed in the direction of the fire truck. She really had no idea where she was going. She only knew that Daryl hadn't come back. And she couldn't just sit and wait anymore. With her hand on her knife she headed into the trees. She followed a path the others had made either going in or coming out. It was a direction to go. She kept an eye out for landmarks so she didn't get lost. There were a lot of walker bodies. She picked her way around them. She kept going in one direction hoping for the best.


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl had run into trouble. Well not really Daryl, but Noah. His bad leg had made hiking down the hill and through the forest extremely tough. He probably shouldn't have even come. He'd put his own life in danger and they rest of them as well. Daryl had noticed he was struggling and had tried keeping track of him and watching his back as they fought off the hordes, but the kid was relentless, determined to carry his own weight. The last big horde that they'd been in the middle of had been Noah's downfall. Daryl couldn't do anything but watch. He'd been able to get to Noah and take care of him in the end and he put his body in a hollow tree to come back for later. Because this kid had been the reason they'd found Beth. He'd been Beth's friend and Daryl wanted to bring his body back for her. That had turned out to be a huge ordeal. Everyone else had cleared the area and Daryl had searched for the hollow tree for hours before finally finding it again. Now the sun was rising and he was making his way through the forest with Noah's dead body over his shoulder. It was hard, especially now because the terrain was beginning to slope upwards. Hiking with the extra weight made his muscles scream in protest. And his heart ached with another loss. One that would break Beth too. And he didn't want her to hurt, he was determined to protect her but this, this was gonna hurt. He shifted Noah's body and adjusted his crossbow. His boots slipped on lichen and leaves. He heard a crack, he was sure he hadn't stepped on anything that big. He stopped and raised his bow. He searched the trees ahead of him where the sound had come from. He saw movement. There was nowhere for him to hide. Someone was coming. Maybe someone looking for him. Then Daryl recognized her. Oh god no! He thought. And she stepped from behind the trees. The sun shone on her hair. When she made eye contact, she smiled and started to hurry towards him. As she got closer she saw what Daryl was burdened with and he saw her face fall, her eyes widen. Daryl lowered Noah's body to ground seconds before Beth was on her knees at his feet. Daryl knelt next to her. "No, no, no." she whispered. She reached out and touched Noah's lifeless hand.

"I'm sorry Beth." Daryl said. She fell against him shaking and wiping her face.

"I'm not crying." she swallowed.

"Yes you are. You cry for him." Daryl held her shoulders and saw for the first time the newly bandaged wound that had bled through and the blood on the front of her t-shirt. He panicked.

"You're bleeding! Are you hurt? What happened?" She looked up at him with those blue eyes and they were so full of sorrow.

"I'm okay." she said in a voice too small to be convincing.

"You weren't supposed to leave without…" Daryl's voice broke. ..without me." He pulled her to him and just held her on the forest floor Noah's dead body beside them. Being broken was normal. Being raw and ripped wide open came unexpectedly.

"You. Didn't. Come. Back." she forced the words out.

"I needed to bring him back." Daryl said. She looked at him. And then she finally cried. She held Noah's hand and cried for the loss of her friend and for the gift that Daryl gave her by bringing his body back.

Beth pulled herself together and took a deep breath. Daryl watched her closely. "We need to get back. They're gonna be worried." she said. "I can help." She stood up and looked at him. Daryl knew if he said the wrong thing or was too overprotective it would be a mistake right now. Beth needed to feel something other than hopeless.

"Take my crossbow. You can cover us. It will make it easier for me to carry.. him."

"I snuck out. I didn't tell them I was going to find you. " she confessed.

"Mmmm." he didn't look at her. "You're a pain in the ass Greene." She adjusted her knife and gun.

"I'm a survivor." she said.

"Yes you are." he smiled slightly. While they walked she told him what had happened with Father Gabriel. "I'm gonna kill him!" Daryl said.

"I don't trust him." she said. Daryl stopped walking. He put Noah down. Beth kept walking for a few steps and then she turned and looked at him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come're." he said. She walked back over to him. He looked at her bandaged wound. He touched it gently. "No bump?" he asked quietly. She shook her head. He trailed his lightly fingers down her cheek. He looked into her eyes and traced her lips with his finger. He closed the space between them and leaned down and kissed her softly. "I know you will do everything you can to take care of yourself. And you're strong, you're a survivor. But I, I can't, if I lost you…" She put her arms around his neck and pulled him to her and kissed him again.

"You're not going to." she whispered into his mouth.

"Then let me protect you, let me be me." he wrapped his arms around her.

"Teach me to fight, to shoot and hold my own. Let me protect you if you need me too and you can protect me." She gave him a small smile even though her eyes were filled with sadness. He didn't want to agree, but he didn't see any way out of it.

He shook his head and muttered "Pain in the ass." And she smiled and the smile almost took away the sadness. That's all he needed. Her smile. They could get through anything if he could just make her smile. Even the hard stuff. It was like a candle in the darkness for him. He picked up Noah and they headed back to the cabin.

The lookout must have spotted them them because Rick came down through the trees to meet them even before they got to the fence.

"Where the hell did you go Beth?!" Rick said angrily. Daryl stepped forward putting himself between Rick and Beth. Rick looked at him and what he was carrying. His face fell. "When did that happen?" he sounded defeated.

"Early. Before daylight. Kid wasn't prepared." Daryl said. Rick rubbed his face and looked at Beth again.

"We sent people out looking for you. We were worried." Beth looked at Daryl.

"I'm sorry." was all she said. She pushed past Daryl and walked ahead.

"We need to find a place for him." Daryl said walking by Rick. Rick nodded and followed them. Michonne and Tyreese were waiting in the yard. Tyreese helped Daryl with Noah's body. Carl came down the steps followed by others from the house. They looked at the body on the ground, a jagged knife wound at his temple.

"Oh no.." Tara said softly. The expressions on everyone's faces was as familiar as a photograph you've seen a hundred times. Too many times. As Maggie came down the stairs she just looked angry.

"You left without telling anyone!" she said.

"I know. I'm sorry." Beth said gently.

"This could be your body!" Maggie kept on.

"I said I was sorry." Beth gritted her teeth.

"That's not good enough! What the hell made you think you could go out there alone?" At this Maggie glanced at Daryl.

"Let it go Maggie." Glenn said. Maggie looked at Noah's body.

"I almost lost you." Maggie said quietly. Her anger was losing steam. Beth stared at the ground. Eugene came up with shovels and Abraham and Daryl grabbed them .They went just outside the back gate and started digging a hole. Maggie came up next to Beth.

"You went after him?" she said accusingly.

"I did." Beth said turning and looking her sister in the eyes. "And you would have done the same."

"It's different." Maggie said weakly.

"Why? I'm not allowed to love someone?! He risked his life to bring Noah's body back because Noah was my friend." Beth said, close to tears now.

"Do you love him Beth?" Maggie asked watching her sister's face closely. Beth didn't know how to respond. She and Daryl had never ventured into this territory. She knew what she felt, but until she shared it with Daryl she didn't feel like it was right to share it with anyone else. She watched as further out in the forest, two shadows struggled to make their way through the vegetation. She knew Daryl was aware that the walkers were there, they just weren't a threat yet. But they were a distraction. Beth wanted a distraction. She pulled out her knife and took off at a jog towards the walkers in the trees. She let herself go to that place in her head where she found herself best able to deal with the horrors before her. And she raised her knife and stabbed. And kept stabbing until a strong hand grabbed her wrist and held it still.

"Stop Beth. You got them." A gruff voice in her ear, warm breath on her neck. She looked down at her hands and the front of her shirt. She was covered in blood and bits and pieces of walkers. One body lay on the forest floor. The other had fallen over a branch where she had continued to stab it, demolishing it's rotting head. Daryl wiped blood from her cheek with a dirty hand. She looked at him and over at the mound in the dirt where Noah was buried. Nothing made sense. Was this it? Just loss. And if she loved Daryl and lost him? She suddenly felt overwhelmed with the weight of everything. The kiss, her promise, Noah's body. Living, dying, loving, losing. And then he was there, his hand under her chin, making her look at him.

"You there?" he asked. She bit her lip until she tasted blood.

"Can you cut this stupid cast off?" she asked him. His eyes clouded in confusion and then he shrugged.

"That's what you need right now?" he asked. She nodded. "Ok. Let's go cut it off." He took her hand and led her back to the cabin.

Daryl found a small hack saw in the cabin. He sat in a chair facing Beth, her arm held steady between his legs. He slowly and meticulously cut the cast off her wrist. He kept looking up at her. She looked lost. Her expression reminded him of how he sometimes felt. Disconnected. That wasn't a good place to be.

"We should go out with the bow and guns and get this wrist back in shape." he said quietly.

"You'll help me?" she asked.

"Mmmm. I will. It ain't no good to feel helpless." he said. He brushed away residue from the saw. She watched as he sawed back and forth. She did feel helpless. It was like being back in the farmhouse. She heard a crack. The cast fell away from her wrist. Underneath her arm looked skinny and weak.

"I feel like my arm looks." she mumbled.

"You look like shit. We both do." She looked at him. He had a smirk on his face. He touched her cheek and tugged at her shirt. Blood and walker goo. "Let's clean up." He led her into the bathroom. He took off his jacket and pulled his t-shirt over his head. Standing there shirtless, he pumped water for the shower. Beth couldn't breathe. He reached over and helped her take off her flannel. He just looked at her t-shirt fingering the hem while they looked at each other. He turned to the bucket of water and wet a washcloth. He wiped her arms and face being gentle with her wrist. When he finished she took the washcloth and rinsed it out and washed his face and arms. Her hand lingered on his chest and she felt his heart beating fast beneath his warm skin. He turned and put his head under the bucket and dumped the water over his head. He shook the water from his hair. Beth stood there shivering.

"Come on." he took her hand and led her into the bedroom Rick had been staying in. He went out and grabbed their backpacks and tossed them on the bed. "You should change." he said. He laid on the bed. She raised her eyebrows at him. He looked and her and turned over facing away from her. She rummaged through her bag and found another t-shirt. She dropped the bag and stood there awkwardly. Daryl patted the bed beside him. "Just rest for awhile." Daryl said. She looked at the door. "Don't matter what they think anymore Beth." he said gruffly and patted the bed again. She crawled across the bed and laid beside him. He put an arm underneath her and moved her closer to him. She turned on her side and rested her head on his chest and it no longer felt awkward. She felt safe. And he felt like he was taking care of her, something he had failed at too many times before. For the first time in a long time sleep came quickly for both of them.


	10. Chapter 10

Beth woke up to Daryl thrashing and mumbling in his sleep.

"Leave her alone.. Let her go! Beth, I…." Beth shook him.

"Daryl?"

He sat up and rubbed his face.

"Bad dream?" she asked.

He nodded. He put his feet over the edge of the bed. She didn't say anything about him calling out her name. She moved to get off the bed. Daryl reached out for her hand.

"How's your wrist?" he asked.

She sat beside him. He held her wrist and rubbed it. Her hand looked so small in his.

"It's okay I think. It doesn't hurt." she said.

He looked at her forehead. She reached up and put her hand on his cheek and he leaned into it.

"Daryl?"

"Mmhmm?" he murmured.

"Maggie asked me if I love you?" she said.

He lifted his head up and looked at her, his mouth suddenly dry.

"She did?" he asked.

Beth nodded.

"Why'd she ask you something like that?" he glanced at her and looked down at his hand where her wrist lay.

"Because I went looking for you I guess." she said.

"Was kinda stupid and dangerous." Daryl said.

"Would you have gone looking for me?" she asked.

"I never would have let you leave alone in the first place." he said looking at her.

She sat silent for a moment and then stood up and stretched.

"We should see what everyone is doing. I wonder how long we slept?" She reached for the door knob.

"Beth?" Her name sounded so different when he said it. She turned around and looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"What did you tell you sister?" he asked. He glanced at her nervously.

"I, uh, I didn't say anything. I didn't think it was right talking to her about that. I mean before I talked to you." she said.

Daryl nodded. "Ok."

She turned to leave again but suddenly stopped. She walked back over to Daryl and stood in front of him. She took a deep breath. She looked down at him sitting on the bed.

"But I do." she said.

He watched her warily.

"Love you. I do." She brushed a lock of hair from her face.

Daryl stood up shaking his head. He reached out for her and pulled her against him.

"I wanna tell you not too.." he said his mouth against her hair. "But I can't. I love you too Beth."

She put her arms around his neck and he put his hands in her hair. This time they kissed like it was the last time they'd ever be able to. He picked her up and sat on the bed with her on his lap. He kissed her neck slowly and softly and she held on tightly to his shoulders. A knock at the door made them both jump.

"Hey are you guys up?" Carl called through the door. Beth rolled off Daryl's lap and onto the bed. Daryl put his head in in his hands.

"Yeah. Come in." he called back.

Carl walked in holding Judith and looked at them suspiciously.

"Judith really needs to take a nap in here." he said. The baby saw Daryl and immediately broke out a toothless smile. Daryl couldn't help but smile back. He held out his arms to the baby.

"Hey little ass kicker!"

Carl went over to the playpen.

""What's everyone doing?" Beth asked Carl.

"Carol has been cooking stuff all day. There's some food here. A group went out scouting to see how far from the next town we are." Carl said.

"Damn I was supposed to go." Daryl said.

"Yeah Maggie made everyone leave you guys alone. I'm sorry about Noah Beth." he looked at the girl on the bed.

"Thank you Carl." she smiled sadly. Judith squealed as Daryl tickled her feet. She crawled across the bed to Beth. Daryl laid back on the bed and watched Beth play peek a boo with the baby.

"Do me a favor and put her to sleep?" Carl asked. "I'm gonna go help my dad outside."

"Sure." Beth said.

"Tell him I will be right out." Daryl said.

This was one of those "rare" normal moments when the world seemed to be quiet and calm and walker free. Daryl rolled over and poked Judith's belly and she giggled. His eyes met Beth's.

"She's never gonna know a world without walkers." he mused.

"Maybe not. Or maybe someday things will change." Beth said.

He smiled and leaned over and kissed her. He needed her hope. They all did.

Life during an apocalypse is hardly ever normal or quiet and never walker free for very long. Beth and Daryl had to get up and leave the safe haven of the bedroom with Judith and face the realities of the life they were living now. The one thing that had changed was that Beth refused to sit in the cabin and watch as the others did what she considered the hard stuff. She went down to where the firetruck was with Carl and made sure there was still plenty of foliage camouflaging the vehicle. The came across a couple of walkers and Beth took them both out with her knife. Her jeans were splattered with blood and when she walked back into the camp Daryl confronted her.

"What happened?" he scrutinized her pants.

"Walkers Daryl. I'm fine." she pushed past him.

Carl walked up.

"She's ok?" Daryl asked the boy.

"Yeah. She's tough. But maybe you could take her out and work with her? Her wrist was bothering her. She tried to hide it from me." he said.

"Yeah. Ok. " Daryl nodded.

For the second night in a row Beth and Daryl slept together on the pull out couch. They both still felt awkward about showing affection around the others. Even though it seemed that no one cared or seemed surprised that they were together. He had held her hand under the covers the first night. And on the second morning she woke up with his arm draped across her and his face in her hair. It was early and quiet. Beth rolled over and into his arms.

"You wanna go out and shoot the bow? We can take the fence watch this morning." Daryl asked.

"Sure." she said. She sat up and instead of getting up on her side of the bed she climbed teasingly over Daryl. He grabbed her hips and held her sitting on top of him. The look he gave her drove the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. Most of the time he was hard to read, but it was clear exactly what was on his mind right then. And he knew by the look on her face that she was fully aware of the affect she was having on him. She leaned over and kissed him. Neither noticed Abraham at the table cleaning his gun.

"Hey you two- get a room." he chuckled. Beth looked up at him with wide eyes.

"We tried man, no rooms available." Daryl said. Beth laughed.

And Abraham said, "And the man's got a sense of humor!"

They got up and got ready and headed out. Rick was lookout. He watched them walk towards the back gate.

"We're gonna walk the fence." Daryl called up to Rick.

"Ok. We're gonna meet at lunch time and come up with a plan." Rick said.

Daryl followed Beth out the gate. They went left and into the trees. In just their short time here they'd already begun to wear a path along the fence. Beth followed along where others had already walked. They had walked almost the entire fence when Daryl touched her lightly on the back. She glanced at him and he was pointing through the trees. She expected to see a walker but it was a deer. He took off his crossbow and held it out to her. She raised it to her shoulder and felt Daryl's arms come up around hers.

"You got him in your sight?" he whispered, his warm breath giving her goosebumps. She nodded slightly.

"Okay, take your time, aim and shoot." She leaned slightly backwards, her finger on the trigger. Daryl heard her breath hitch and saw her bite her lip. She started to lower the bow. He took it and leaned it against the tree behind them. He stepped up behind her.

"I, I couldn't.. If it was a walker.." she said softly. Daryl leaned against her and kissed her neck. She laid her head back against his shoulder.

"S'okay." he breathed and slid his arms around her waist. She turned in his arms and took his face in her hands. She looked in his eyes and he looked into hers. Clearly neither of them had quite forgotten that morning in bed.

"Beth, I want you so bad…" he said softly. She leaned into him and kissed him fervently. Her hands were in his hair and she tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth. Daryl groaned and held her against him. A loud crack made him open his eyes and over Beth's shoulder he saw a vehicle, a large truck making its way through the trees. He grabbed Beth and pulled her behind him.

"What the hell?" he whispered.

"What is it?" Beth asked quietly.

"Don't know." Daryl backed them both up behind some trees and against the fence.

"Can you make it back?" he whispered.

"No! I am not leaving you." she said.

A lone driver climbed from the cab. He walked around the truck. Daryl looked at Beth and held his finger to his lips. He motioned to her to follow him. They made their way to the cab of the the truck. Once they got close Daryl leaned in to grab the door handle and suddenly the door opened and slammed into Daryl's head. He fell on the ground unconscious. Beth screamed in anger and stepped protectively over Daryl's body and pulled out her gun just as a young blond man emerged from the truck. He held a knife in his hands.

"Drop it!" Beth yelled. When he hesitated she fired off a warning bullet just to the left of his foot.

"I said drop it! I will kill you!" she screamed. Behind her she heard footsteps in the brush. Her stomach sank. If there were more she was in trouble.

"We've got your back Beth!" It was Rick's voice. She felt relief wash over her. She sank to her knees beside Daryl. He was out cold and there was a gash on his forehead. Beth took off her flannel and held to the wound.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Rick asked the stranger while he slowly moved in closer.

Tyreese was checking out the other side of the truck.

"I'm not here to harm anyone.." the man began to explain.

"Are you with anyone else?" Rick asked him.

"No, I'm alone." he said. Tyreese disappeared around the truck.

"I'm from a sanctuary, a safe place not far from here. I'm looking for survivors…" he said.

"Why?" Rick asked.

"All clear here." Tyreese said coming from around the back of the truck. He hurried over to Beth looking at Daryl lying on the ground.

"How bad is it?" he knelt beside her.

"I don't know. It's bleeding bad and he's unconscious. We need to get him back Tyreese!" she brushed the tears away and checked the bleeding again. She brushed blood soaked hair from his forehead. "Oh god Daryl.. wake up, please wake up!"


	11. Chapter 11

******Real quick.. Before we get started, I'd like to take you back to chapter 9… Huge story inconsistency here! And that is a big pet peeve of mine! I can't believe I actually did it myself! But it was a minor character who really doesn't matter in this story or in the series itself IMO.. anyway let's return to the matter of Father Gabriel.. And I apologize profusely!**

 **You guys: What happened to Father Gabriel? Did Rick deal with him? Did Daryl kill him?**

 **Me: Oh shit! I let that slip by! I can't believe it!**

 **You guys: So?**

 **Me: Um.. Idk.. Let's just say Rick took him to a galaxy far, far, away.**

 **You guys: Well ok.. We didn't like that whiny, crybaby anyway!**

 **If this is a sorry sad way of dealing with an inconsistency and you would appreciate an actual update to the chapter just inbox me.. It really won't have anything to do with Beth/Daryl.**

 **OK on with Chapter 11!**

Rick took the stranger back up to the cabin at gunpoint and sent Abraham down to help Tyreese and Beth with Daryl. Daryl had already started to regain consciousness when Abraham walked up to them. He sat up pushing Beth away and at the same time calling her name.

"Beth what the hell.." Daryl touched his head.

"I'm right here." Beth said kneeling down beside him again. Daryl tried standing up.

"Hold up there soldier. Let us help you. That's a nasty head injury." Abraham said. He and Tyreese helped Daryl stand. He stumbled a little and Beth came up behind him.

"Where's my crossbow? What happened?" Daryl grumbled in typical Daryl fashion.

"I have your crossbow. The door on the truck hit you when that guy opened it." Beth said.

"Rick's got him up at the cabin." Tyreese said.

"Who the hell is he?" Daryl asked.

"That's what we're gonna find out." Abraham said. They started walking and Daryl stopped.

"Beth?" he said. She walked around Tyreese and stood in front of Daryl.

"You ok?" he asked. She nodded and she reached up and wiped away blood that had leaked from under the flannel she had haphazardly tied around his head.

"Alright, alright.. Let's get back to the cabin." Abraham said.

He says he's from a safe place- Alexandria, and he's been out looking for survivors.." Rick told the others who had gathered in the cabin. The man was sitting in a chair with his hands and feet tied up.

"Why did you do what you did then?" Beth asked accusingly. Her and Carol were at the table with Daryl taking care of of his wound.

"It was an accident. I didn't know that you were right outside the truck. I was going to try and signal your look out." the man said.

"How many weapons do you have? Are you alone?" Daryl pushed Carol's hands away after she taped gauze to his wound.

"My name is Aaron. I have one gun and a knife. That's all. They were for protection from the biters." he said. the others just looked at him. Daryl stood up and Beth grabbed his arm.

"I'm fine!" he shrugged her hand off his arm and walked over to Rick. "DId you ask him yet?"

"No." Rick said.

Daryl looked at Aaron. "How many walkers you killed?"

"I don't know, a lot." Aaron said.

"How many people you killed?" Daryl asked.

"Two." Aaron said.

"Why?"

"Because they tried to kill me."

Daryl looked at Rick.

"You said you were alone, is that true?" Michonne asked.

Aaron shook his head. "No. There's someone who is supposed to be waiting for me further out. Just one.."

Rick grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"You said you were alone!" he said.

"I am! I do have a partner. We have a meeting point." Aaron continued to explain what he and his partner were doing and where the supposed meeting point was.

"Back in the truck. In my bag. I have pictures." Aaron said.

"I'll go back for them." Tyreese volunteered.

"I'll go with you." Daryl said.

"Daryl you're hurt, you can't.." Beth started.

"I'm fine." Daryl said without looking at her. He couldn't look at her because he knew he'd see the confusion in her eyes. And he couldn't deal with that right now. He grabbed his crossbow and followed Tyreese out the back door. Beth just watched them leave. She bit her lip. When Judith started crying she was almost relieved. She looked at the others and sighed.

"I'll get her." she said and she left the room and walked into the bedroom. She picked up the baby and smiled at her. Taking a turn with Judith was fine, but she wasn't going to fall back into the role of full time babysitter.

Tyreese and Daryl came back without the bag and no pictures.

"Where are they Aaron? What kind of game are you playing?" Rick said.

"Eric must have come back. He must have taken the bag. There were flares in there so we could signal each other. He must be looking for me." Aaron said.

"Or there is no bag or pictures.." Daryl said. Beth walked back into the living room. She had heard Daryl's voice and was relieved that he'd come back so soon. His head injury and weird behavior had her worried. She walked towards him and he looked at her and walked away. Beth stopped and just looked at the floor. She didn't know what was going on. Daryl glanced at her from where he stood by the table and he knew just by the set of her shoulders that he was hurting her.

"How far is this meeting point? Let's send a group to verify that he's at least telling the truth about this." Daryl said. And it would get him out of the cabin away from Beth so he could figure out what to do with his feelings.

"That's a good idea." Rick said. He pulled Daryl aside. "Or we could just take care of him and be done with it." He spoke quietly so the others didn't hear him.

Daryl shook his head. "Not yet. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. If there's no meeting point or we have any trouble then we take care of him."

"I'll go." Glenn said.

"Me too." Maggie said.

Abraham, Rosita and Michonne agreed to go to. They all gathered their things in preparation to leave. Daryl grabbed his backpack. He knew Beth had come up behind him. He didn't turn around.

"You're going?" she asked softly. His shoulders stiffened and she took a step back.

"Yeah." he said.

She didn't say anything else and when he finally turned around to face her she was gone. He hesitated debating wether to go and look for her. He needed to say something. He was being a complete asshole and he knew it. This was probably for the best. He was bad luck. Beth was just going to get hurt with him. When he was with her he let his guard down. And when his guard was down bad things happened. He'd protect her. That would never change. He'd promised her that. But he'd do it from afar. Or as far away as possible considering their situation.

"Let's head out." he told the others.

"Try to be out of these woods before dark. Or find someplace to stay for the night." Rick told him.

Beth had gone up to the loft. She watched from a window as the group left. Daryl held the gate for everyone and then took a last look around the yard before he closed the gate behind him. Beth turned away from the window as Sasha walked into the room.

"You okay Beth?" she asked.

"Yeah." Beth said. "I was just.. Just looking."

"He'll be back." Sasha said.

Beth started walking towards the stairs. She stopped and turned towards Sasha. She smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"I know." she said.

Downstairs Rick was talking to Aaron about Alexandria. Beth half listened as she joined Carol at the kitchen table. Carol was listening too.

"Do you believe him?" Beth asked her quietly.

"I want to. But it sounds too good to be true." Carol said. Beth nodded.

"It seems like anything good is a lie or never lasts." Beth said.

Carl came in from the front door. He looked nervous.

"Dad there are a lot of walkers down by the fire truck." he said.

Sasha came down from the loft. "Let's go clear them out."

"I'm coming." Beth said.

Rick glanced at Sasha.

"Good. We need all the help we can get." Sasha said.

"You're gonna take Tyreese too?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. We'll take him. Four should be good. It doesn't look like a horde." Carl said.

They found Tyreese out back and headed down to the fire truck. Beth focused on the task at hand and tried not to think about Daryl. That was her goal for volunteering after all. She didn't enjoy doing this, but she could and she planned on getting better at it. There were about 20 walkers milling around the truck. Everyone immediately went to work clearing them out,

"Guys, look at this!" Carl said. There was a body on the ground at Carl's feet. It wasn't a walker. It was a dead human. It had obviously been attacked by walkers, but looking at what was left it was easy to tell what had happened. That and walkers didn't attack other walkers.

"You think this guy was running from these walkers?" Tyreese asked.

"What if he was looking for us?" Beth asked.

"Maybe it's Aaron's partner. He's coming from the direction the others went." Sasha said. Beth stepped back towards the back of the fire truck. Suddenly a walker came out from behind it. It reached for Beth. She tried to step out of its reach, but it grabbed her upper arm and its nails left two long scratches. Beth screamed and Carl stabbed the walker in the head.

"Oh jesus." Tyreese breathed. Beth's eyes were wide. She looked at her arm and up at Sasha.

"What does this mean?" she wiped at her arm.

"Don't touch it! We go back now!" Sasha took Beth's other arm. "We'll fix it." she said a little more gently. "Don't worry." Sasha wasn't sure this was true, but Beth's face was white and terrified. She wanted to keep her calm. Carl ran ahead and burst through the back door.

"Carol we need a first aid kit!"

"Who's hurt?!" Rick asked. Right then Sasha came through the back door with Beth. Tyreese followed behind.

"What happened?" Carol pulled out a chair and Beth sat in it.

"A walker scratched her." Sasha said.

"What does this mean?" Beth asked again softly. Her heart was pounding. She looked up at Rick. He kneeled down beside her and checked out her arm.

"Do we still have peroxide?" he asked.

Carol sat the brown bottled on the table in front of him.

"Clean her arm. Boil water and clean it with that and then use peroxide again." He told Carol. Sasha grabbed a pan and got water from the bathroom pump. Carol used a cloth and poured peroxide on the scratches. She wiped the wound. Beth whimpered more out of fear than pain. Rick looked at her and smiled. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Rick said. He took her hand in his.

"Be honest. You don't have to sugar coat it. Am I infected?" Beth asked.

"Honestly? We have never dealt with a scratch before. Any infection can kill us, we know that. And we know regardless of how they die once a person is dead they change. So we'll keep your wound clean, watch for infection and go from there. We can treat infections, we've done it many times before Beth." He looked her in the eyes the entire time he was talking to her. Sasha brought the hot water over and Carol finished cleaning the scratches and she bandaged them up. Aaron watched from his chair a concerned look on his face.

"We have some antibiotics. I am going to give you those too." Carol told her. Beth nodded.

She stood up and took a deep breath. Rick wiped the tears from her cheek. He put his arms around her and hugged her.

"I know you're scared. Hell I'm scared too! But I think it's gonna be okay. We'll clean it again in a couple of hours and keep cleaning it every couple hours." he said.

"Thank you Rick." She hugged him back.

"But you have to promise to relax. I know you want to help out more and you have been, but for now just take it easy." he told her. She nodded at him.

"We also found a body down there." Tyreese said.

"Human?" Rick asked.

"It was at one point." Carl said.

"What did it look like? Was it a man?" Aaron asked frantically.

"Yeah it was man. But there wasn't much of a face left." Carl said uncomfortably.

Aaron was visibly upset. "What was he wearing?"

"I don't remember." Carl said.

"You have to remember!" Aaron yelled.

"Hey calm down!" Rick walked over to him.

"I'm sorry. It might be.. It might be my partner. It might be Eric." he said.

"I think he was wearing brown pants." Tyreese said.

"I don't remember much about him, I'm sorry. Beth was hurt and I.." Sasha felt terrible watching the man's face.

"Rick I have to ask you to take me there. Please. Let me ID him. You can keep me tied up. I just, I need to know." Aaron said.

"Let's take him Dad. The walkers are all down." Carl said.

"Carl, I.." Rick started.

"I'll help. Probably a good idea to find out if it was his partner or someone else who found us." Tyreese said. Rick agreed and he Carl, Tyreese and Sasha escorted him back to the fire truck. Beth stood at the back door watching them. Carol was at the table taking inventory of their meds.

"We have a lot more antibiotics than I thought. We can keep you on them for a few days." she told Beth. Beth looked at her bandaged arm. She hoped that Daryl was going to be gone overnight. She didn't want to see his face when he found out about the scratches. He'd blame himself and that would make her feel weak and stupid. Daryl was an enigma. She didn't know exactly why he had started pulling away from her. And she certainly wasn't going to sit here and wait for him to come back and make it all better. That was not an option. Because maybe he didn't want to make it all better anymore anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

It turned out that the body down by the firetruck was Aaron's partner. When Rick investigated further he found the bag with the pictures and the flares that had been missing from the truck that Daryl and the others had searched earlier. When they returned the group was somber. Beth was doing an ammunition inventory and Judith was playing on the floor beside her. Since she needed to take it easy she let Carol go out with Tara to walk the fences.

"How'd it go?" Beth asked. Rick just shook his head. Aaron walked over to the chair he'd been tied to and sat down. He looked beaten.

"Aaron I'm not going to tie you up, but you have to understand we need to make sure we can trust you." Rick said.

"I get it." the man said. Tyreese picked up Judith and sat on a couch with her.

"How's your arm Beth?" Rick walked over to the table where she sat.

"It's feeling better. What happened out there?" she asked. Rick put the bag on the table.

"Let's clean it again." Rick avoided answering her question. He took a pan to get water to boil. Beth looked at the bag and at Aaron.

"That man? He was your partner?" Beth asked quietly. Aaron nodded.

"He was." Aaron's voice broke.

"I'm sorry." Beth said.

"Thank you." he said.

Rick sat at the table with Beth and cleaned and re-bandaged the scratches.. They were red and swollen, but there was no sign of infection so far. The rest of the group slowly started to come back into the cabin.

"It looks good. How are you feeling?" Rick asked.

"Better." she smiled at him.

"Good." he patted her leg. They spent the rest of the evening eating and going over the pictures. Aaron answered questions, but he wasn't his enthusiastic self. The loss of his partner had obviously hit him hard. Beth helped Eugene and Carol clean up after everyone had eaten.

"What's the story with Aaron's friend?" Beth asked Carol.

"He was his partner. They were in a relationship." Carol said.

"Oh no." Beth said. She looked over at Aaron. He hadn't moved from the chair he sat in. She reached up to touch her arm. If she was infected and nothing could be done, how would Daryl feel? And if she died would it break him? She remembered how Rick had been there, but not really there after Lori had died. It was like he was living, but he wasn't alive. Rick came in and sat at the table.

"We have night watch set up. Carol could you sleep in the bedroom with Judith? I'm gonna stay out here with Aaron and Beth tonight." he said.

"I have to be watched?" Beth asked.

"Just being on the safe side. I want to keep cleaning those scratches every two hours." Rick said.

"Oh. Okay." Beth said.

"You guys go ahead and take the couches, I'm not going to sleep anyway." Rick said. Beth looked at Aaron. It didn't look like he was going anywhere. She felt so bad for him.

"Hey Aaron why don't you try and get some sleep." Beth told him. "Any couch you want." She walked over and handed him a blanket.

"I am thinking that Daryl and the others will be back tomorrow if they haven't run into trouble." Rick said. Aaron took Beth's blanket and laid down on one of the couches. Beth took the other couch. Rick was at the table cleaning his gun.

"Do you think they'll run into trouble?" Beth asked.

"Nothing they can't handle. Don't worry about Daryl." he said. Beth laughed softly.

"Would it matter? He's so hard to figure out. I think I am starting to and he completely changes on me." she said. She hadn't meant to share so much, especially with Rick, but sometimes she couldn't control her mouth. Especially when she was nervous or scared.

"Sorry." she said.

"It's ok. Daryl's tough. But I think out of all of us, you probably know him best." Rick said. Beth didn't say anything. She was sitting here in the middle of the apocalypse worrying about Daryl's feelings for her. She knew she didn't need to worry. He loved her. If anything Daryl didn't lie. He was just being Daryl. She'd have to accept him for who he was.

"I'm gonna try and get some sleep." she said.

"Okay. Goodnight Beth." Rick said.

Hours later Beth woke to someone saying her name. She rolled over and heard Rick again.

"I'm awake." she stretched and felt a sharp pain in her arm that hadn't been there before. She sat up quickly.

"Ready to clean it again." Rick asked.

"It hurts." she said. "It hurts more than it has since it happened." It was suddenly hard to breathe. She hurried over to the table and started pulling the gauze off.

"Hey take it easy Beth." Rick said holding onto her hands. "Let me look."

He gently removed the bandage and looked at her arm in the candle light. Beth tried to look too. Her arm was red and the scratches were definitely more swollen than before. She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him.

"I think maybe we need to just leave it alone for awhile. All the cleaning and peroxide might be making it raw." Rick said.

"Are you sure?" Beth asked. "What if it's getting worse?"

"Take a good look at it. Do you see any signs of infection? Think about everything you've learned so far dealing with all the wounds we have to deal with. And also what you learned from your dad being a veterinarian." Rick said. Beth looked again and paid attention. The scratches were red, but not hot. And the swelling could be from sleeping on her arm. She really didn't see a single sign of infection.

"I guess you're right." she said.

"Have a little faith in yourself. You're stronger than you think." Rick bandaged her arm back up. They both went and sat on the couch. He handed her a pill and some water.

"I feel like a helpless kid." she said.

"You aren't that girl anymore Beth. You've been through a lot lately. But you've come a long way." Rick smiled at her.

"Thanks Rick." she said. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Go back to sleep, it's almost morning." Rick said. She curled up on her end of the couch and closed her eyes.

The first sign of light was Daryl's cue to start waking the others. He and Michonne had been on watch since early that morning. The rest slept in the car. This had been where Aaron said his meeting point with his partner Eric was supposed to be. They hadn't found any sign of this man Eric and most of the supplies were gone. There was no reason to stay any longer. The safety that daylight brought was here and he wanted to go back. Michonne walked over to the small fire he sat beside.

"There's nothing here Daryl." she said.

"I know. We need to go back." Daryl said turning the ashes with a stick to completely extinguish the fire.

"You sure you're ready? You seemed in a big hurry to get out of there." she said. Daryl looked at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"What are you so afraid of?" she took the stick from his hand.

"I ain't afraid of nothing." he stood up and wiped his hands on his dirty jeans.

"You're afraid of her. You can't go back to who you were before. She changed you somehow. It's no good living in those dark places when you've been given a little light of hope." She grabbed her backpack and knocked on the car window. Daryl watched her pack up a few water bottles they'd found in the trunk. He didn't want to think about the fact that Michonne was right. He thought back to the funeral parlor. He'd started to feel comfortable, safe. He'd even thought maybe they could make something of that place. He'd let his guard down for just a little bit and then Beth had been gone. What if it happened again? What if the next time it was worse because now she was inside of him? He couldn't get rid of her, he could only pretend. He could try and fake out whatever it was that decided his fate, that decided he was worthy of of something more than just this existence.

"Where's your hope?" he asked Michonne.

"Right now it's back at the cabin, it's in this car. It's the family I found when I thought I was pretty much dead." she smiled a little. "That's what makes this hell worth it."

"But you could lose them." Daryl said.

"That's always been true, but right now they're here." She put her backpack on and knocked on the car roof. Daryl watched the others climb out of the car. They grumbled about the early hour and the long walk back. Daryl walked at the back of the group, a few steps behind. And he couldn't stop thinking about her.

A few hours later they stopped to eat. A breeze had kicked up and everyone was restless. But they were getting close to the place they were temporarily calling home. And that seemed to lift their spirits. That and the fact that they'd only come across two walkers on the way back so far. They crossed a clearing they remembered from the day before. There was a smokey smell in the air.

"Hey look.. I see smoke in our general direction!" Abraham pointed to a thick grey haze above the trees and in the same area as the cabin. Daryl moved ahead and broke into a run. The others followed his lead. There was no doubt there was a fire burning somewhere near the cabin. And the rest of their family could be in trouble.


	13. Chapter 13

As they got closer to the cabin it was obvious it wasn't what was on fire. Whatever was burning was on the other side of the cabin. Daryl ran through the back gate and up the stairs. Carol and Eugene were sitting on the couch with Judith. There were wet towels and buckets on the table. Rosita and Maggie grabbed towels, Glenn took a bucket and they followed Abraham back outside.

"What the hell happened?" Daryl asked.

"There was a short in the wiring on the fire truck and that's what initially started the fire. They've been down there fighting it since early this morning." Carol said.

"Everyone?" Daryl asked looking around the room.

"Yes. Except us and the baby." Eugene said. That meant that Beth was down there.

"I'm going to help." Daryl said.

"Here take these." Carol handed him wet bandannas for their faces. Daryl took them and headed out the back door. From the look of it the fire was mainly contained to one area. But it continued to burn brush and foliage away from the cabin because of the direction of the wind. Glenn and Maggie had taken over for Tyreese to give him a break. Using shovels, they were attempting to use dirt to put out a few small fires. Carl and Tara were going back and forth to the stream bringing what little water they could back in buckets. Daryl ran around the side of the truck. Abraham had a shovel and was taking care of the fires there. Sasha and Rosita were dealing with a few stray walkers that had been drawn through the woods to the fire. Michonne came up to Daryl. He handed her a wet bandana and tied one over his face.

"I can't find Rick." she said.

"Beth's out there somewhere too." Daryl said.

"Sasha! Where are the others?" Michonne yelled out to the other girl. The smoke made her cough and she tied the bandanna Daryl had given her around her face. Sasha pointed towards the back of the truck.

"Rick headed back that way." she called back. "Beth was with him." There was a wall of thick black smoke between them and the back of the truck. Daryl pulled out his knife and headed into it followed by Michonne. The fire must have started underneath the back end of the truck. The ground here was charred black. Michonne noticed a figure slumped over by a tree. She motioned to Daryl and they ran over to find Rick his face blackened by smoke. Michonne knelt beside him. He was coughing weakly. She pulled a water bottle from her bag and made him drink.

"The wind, it was… The truck, it's out." he coughed and wheezed. "We got the worst of it, the smoke." he tried to sit up. "She's that way." Rick waved his hand. She. Beth.

"Get him out of the smoke if you can." Daryl yelled as he headed further back into the trees looking for Beth. He saw her ponytail. She was lying on the ground facing away from him. His heart stopped and flashbacks slammed into his memory. Gunshots, Beth falling. Her limp body in a pool of blood on the hospital floor. Daryl knelt on the ground and turned her over towards him. She had a bandanna covering the bottom half of her face. Like Rick, the part of her face that wasn't covered was blackened by smoke. Her clothes and arms were covered in soot too. She had a ragged bandage wrapped around her right bicep. Daryl didn't take the time to check her pulse. He just picked her up and headed back towards the truck and around it in the opposite direction of the smoke. He encountered Maggie and Glenn.

"Rick's down. Michonne needs help. Around back." His throat was beginning to burn from the smoke. Glenn took off. Tyreese took Maggie's shovel.

"Go with them." he told her. Maggie followed Daryl through the trees and back towards the cabin. Daryl bit his lip until he tasted blood. He didn't look at Beth. They went through the back door and Daryl laid Beth on the couch.

"They're coming back with Rick." Maggie said. Daryl knelt beside Beth. He lifted her head and took off the bandanna. Her lips were pink and her throat was warm. He felt for a pulse and found one. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Maggie brought a pillow and blanket over and his hands shook and he lifted Beth's head up. She started coughing weakly. Glenn and Abraham came through the back door carrying Rick.

"Maggie he has a pulse, but he isn't breathing!" Glenn yelled. They laid Rick on the floor and Maggie checked his vitals again. Then she began mouth to mouth. Carl and Michonne came in and Carl knelt beside his dad, his face grim. Michonne put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going back out there to help. Eugene we could use you." Abraham told the other man. Beth was still coughing, but she wasn't fully conscious. Daryl held her up and watched Maggie work on Rick. There wasn't time to worry about what could happen. They just had to keep doing what needed to be done right now. Carol brought a cup of water to Daryl and sat on the couch with Judith in her lap. She looked from Daryl to Rick lying on the floor and her eyes were filled with fear. Michonne's face, usually devoid of any emotion mirrored Carol's. On the couch Beth coughed again. She grabbed a hold of Daryl's shirt. He looked at her and her eyes were open. Carol handed him the cup.

"Beth drink a little of this." he said quietly and he held the cup to her lips. She sipped a little and then pushed the cup away. There were tears in her eyes and as they fell they left trails in the soot on her cheeks. He wiped them away with her bandanna. On the floor Rick began coughing. He tried sitting up but Michonne was quick to make him lay back down.

"Take it easy Rick." she said keeping a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm okay. Just couldn't catch my breath in the smoke." Rick said hoarsely.

"Let's get him on the other couch. " Carol said handing Carl the baby. Beth started coughing again and struggled to take a breath.

"It hurts…" she whispered.

"Don't talk. Just rest." Daryl held the cup to her lips again.

"Carl?" Rick called out.

"I'm here dad." he took his dad's hand.

"Where's Beth?" Rick asked.

"She's here. She's gonna be okay. You both are." Maggie said. Carol brought out a blanket and pillow and Maggie and Glenn helped Rick stand up. He looked over at Beth and Daryl.

"Beth?" Rick said. His voice was ragged and his face was covered in black soot, but he smiled when Beth looked up at him. He went and sat beside her. "You okay?" he asked again. Beth nodded. "I couldn't have put out that fire without you. I would have died. Thank you." Beth leaned over and hugged him.

"I was so scared. I couldn't find you and then I just.. I must have passed out." she said.

"That smoke was bad. How's your arm?" he asked. He looked at the ragged bandage, dirty and torn from their fight with the fire. Daryl's attention went back to the mysterious bandage he'd noticed when he found Beth.

"What happened?" Daryl asked.

Beth looked at him her eyes filled with fear. Then she looked at RIck and shook her head and laid back on the pillow. Daryl watched them both.

"Somebody tell what the hell happened!" he said angrily.

"Rick go lay down. "I'll tell him." Carol said. Beth was silently crying now. "She was scratched by a walker two days ago." Carol said calmly.

"What?" Daryl yelled louder than he intended to. On the floor Judith started crying. Maggie took the baby in her arms. Daryl reached for Beth's arm and unwrapped the dirty bandage. Two long, red scratches ran the length of her bicep. Daryl felt the air leave his lungs. He looked at Beth.

"How? You weren't supposed to be out there." he said flatly. Beth jerked her arm away from his hand.

"I'm fine! Carol and Rick cleaned it. We watched it." She saw Daryl's hands ball into fists and his jaw tense and this made her even angrier. "You can't keep me locked up like some china doll!" her voice cracked and her throat burned. But she didn't back down. Daryl stood up. All he wanted to do was walk out the door and go hit something. He stopped pacing when he heard her voice. "Go ahead, run away. You pull me in and then you push me away! You made me strong! Make up your mind Dixon." she took a deep breath. Daryl turned and went back to the couch. "You were already strong. I just made you realize it." He put his arms around her. The tension in the room dissipated. Maggie came and sat beside Beth. "It's been two days? No fever? No infection?" she asked looking at Carol.

"The scratch didn't seem to work like a bite, at least not this one. We kept it clean and gave her antibiotics." Carol said. Michonne came over and knelt next to Maggie and looked too. She shook her head.

"I'll teach you how to use my katana Beth, and the next time anyone treats you like a china doll you can give them a hair cut." She eyed Daryl and then smiled. Daryl looked around the room. They were all that was left of the original group from the prison. Everyone of them had tempted fate, but they'd survived. They were still here. That had to mean something. That had to be what hope was.


	14. Chapter 14

14\. The fire was put out and the rest of the group returned. Even Aaron. When Rick asked him why he didn't just take off while they were all distracted he shrugged his shoulders.

"I have to finish what Eric and I started." he said.

The mood in the cabin was somber. They looked like what they were with their soot covered skin and clothes. Survivors. Bandages and scars, ripped and torn. Judith whimpered in Maggie's arms. Beth coughed and wiped away the tears that came because it hurt so damn much even just to breathe right now. She stood up. Daryl was leaning against the doorway to the bedroom. He stepped forward when she stood, but something in her eyes stopped him from closing the distance between them.

"I'm gonna take a shower." she said.

"We should heat up water. It's cold and we all need it." Tara said. Beth kept walking past Daryl and into the bedroom.

"Or not." Tara said.

Beth found the plastic garbage bag where they kept a bunch of extra clothes. She dug through it looking for something to change into. Daryl came into the room.

"Hey." he said.

"Hey." she continued her search without looking at him. He bit his bottom lip as he watched her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She sat on the bed, clothes in her hands.

"Everything hurts. And I'm tired." she said.

He nodded. She looked up at him and he wasn't sure if it was the soot on her face or the tears, but her eyes were so blue. She sighed and stood up.

"I'll be out in a few minutes. I know everyone needs a turn."

"Beth?"

She stopped in the doorway. There it was again, her name on his lips. She didn't turn around.

"Nothin'." he hadn't a clue what he was going to say anyway. He was no good with feelings. Well most of the time. He did try with Beth. He walked out and picked up his crossbow and went out the backdoor. He stood on the porch and looked at the sky. It was gray with more than smoke. It would probably rain tonight. Daryl pushed his crossbow over his shoulder and pulled out his knife. He went out the back gate looking for something to take his mind off of everything.

Beth shivered in the shower. The water was freezing. She looked at the scratches on her arm. They weren't infected, but they hurt. She'd probably have scars. She turned her wrist over and brushed her fingers over the scars there. Was she weak for wanting out? What was this world anyway? A struggle, a fight every day for something. Holding onto hope was so hard. Tears fell and Beth sank to her knees in the tub hiccupping on the sobs she tried to keep silent. She felt so defeated. There was a knock on the door.

"Beth?" It was Maggie.

"Hang on. I'm rinsing off." Beth tried to sound normal. Whatever that was. She pulled the chain and gritted her teeth under the cold water. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. Maggie knocked again. Beth opened the door. The sisters eyes met. Beth couldn't hide her feelings. Maggie could see right through her. She came into the small room and closed the door behind her.

"What is it?" She took another towel and started drying Beth's hair.

"I'm hurt. I'm tired. This just goes on and on." Beth said quietly.

"Yeah. And we keep going." Maggie turned Beth around. Her sister's lips were tinted blue and she was shivering from the cold shower.

"People die Maggie." Beth whispered.

"They live too. And in between you hold them close and love them Beth." Maggie said. She hugged Beth and left the bathroom.

It was dark by the time everyone cleaned up. And raining. Everyone was in the cabin, everyone except Daryl. Beth glanced at the back door every few minutes. She wanted him to come back so she'd know he was safe, but she didn't have the energy to deal with what had happened earlier. She followed Maggie into the bedroom and helped her change Judith.

"Let me brush your hair. I haven't done that in forever." Maggie said. Beth handed her the brush and she took the baby. It felt good having Maggie brush her hair. She had always brushed it when Beth was a little girl.

"Do you want to go to Alexandria?" Beth asked her.

"I don't know. It's hard to trust anyone anymore." Maggie said.

"And safe and normal seems impossible." Beth said. Judith was falling asleep in her lap. She cuddled the baby close.

"I think that he really loves you." Maggie said.

Beth turned her head and looked at her sister.

"I know you're struggling with this. You both are. Do whatever makes you happy. There's so little to be happy about right now." She sat beside Beth on the bed.

"He's overprotective and treats me like a child. I've changed. I'm stronger." Beth said.

"You are." Maggie agreed a small smile on her face.

"He's moody and unpredictable." Beth said.

"Do you love him?" Maggie asked. And this time Beth could answer.

"Yes." she whispered. "But I'm afraid."

"Of him?" Maggie asked concerned.

"Of losing him. Of losing myself. Of being so selfish as to be worrying about a relationship right now when most of the time we are fighting for our lives." Beth said.

"We are fighting for each other. Because we've become a family. There's nothing wrong with your worries Beth." Maggie said.

"So every time Glenn goes out alone you worry?" Beth asked.

"Yes. Glenn, Rick, Michonne, Carl, Carol.. Even Daryl. All of them. We worry because we love them." She took the sleeping baby and put her in the playpen.

"Your hair looks really pretty down." Maggie told her. Beth smiled. "We're here. This is what we have to make the best of. Don't go back to that dark place you were in. I need you here." Maggie smiled. "Take the other bedroom tonight. Glenn and I are going to be on watch at some point so someone else should enjoy it." She left Beth sitting on the bed.

Rick walked in followed by Carl. He walked over to Judith. He smiled down at his daughter and looked at Beth.

"How are you feeling?" he sat down next to her.

"Beat up. How about you?" she looked at him. He looked tired.

"About the same. Go to bed. Everyone is either sleeping or taking watch." he patted her leg. She leaned over and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're okay." she said. She left the room.

The cabin was either eerie or comforting after dark when they lit the candles for light. Carol was struggling with the pull out and Beth went over and helped her.

"You okay?" Carol asked her.

"Yeah, just tired." she laughed lightly.

"Go to bed. That's where I'm going." Carol said.

Beth nodded. She found her backpack by the fireplace hearth. Daryl's was next to it. His flannel shirt was lying on top of it. She picked it up.

"Take his backpack. I'll tell him where you are. He'll be back soon I am sure." Carol said.

"Ok.." Beth said. Did everyone automatically assume Daryl was the reason for her mood? Obviously living so close together people notice things about each other.

"It's not just Daryl.. Everything is hard." Beth said.

"I know sweetie. Some things are just worth it." Carol smiled and laid back on the couch.

Beth sighed and walked into the bedroom. She lit the candle on the nightstand and sat down and kicked off her boots. She laid back on the bed and then remembered the flannel. She sat up, her aching muscles protesting and grabbed the flannel. She climbed back into bed and put the flannel on the pillow beneath her head.

Daryl came through the back gate a couple of hours after dark. He'd wandered around the perimeter of the cabin looking for walkers to take his frustration out on. He was wet and cold and needed to be back even if she wanted nothing to do with him. He would probably continue to try and fight it, but it was one battle he wasn't going to win. She was the flame and he was the moth. And everyone knows how that story goes.

"Daryl? That you?" Tyreese called out.

"Yeah." Daryl climbed the steps.

"Anything going on out there?" Tyreese asked.

"Nah. Couple of walkers. You guys got watch?" He eyed the men on the porch. Eugene and Aaron were with Tyreese.

"Yes we do. Go get some sleep."

Daryl walked through the backdoor. Carol was on the pull out couch. The other one was empty.

"Get too cold out there for you?" Carol asked.

Daryl shrugged.

"Beth's in Maggie's room. She has your backpack. I told her I would let you know." Carol said.

Daryl glanced at the door.

"Go to bed Daryl." Carol said and she rolled over.

He walked to the door and went in. He was stopped in his tracks by what he saw in the candle light. Beth was asleep. Her hair was spread out on the pillow around her face. He'd only seen her hair down one other time. In the candlelight she looked ethereal. Her scars were the only thing that made her human. He sat his crossbow and jacket on the floor and slipped off his boots. He happened to look down at his jeans before climbing on the bed. They were covered with dirt and soot. So were his hands and arms. He was sure his face was too. He grabbed a change of clothes from his bag and went in to take a quick shower. A few minutes later he sat down on the bed his towel dried hair still dripping on his t-shirt and he watched Beth sleep. He noticed she had his flannel on the pillow under her head.

"You're not so tough Greene." he said softly and he stretched out on the bed next to her. It was either chaos or calm and somehow she was always in the middle of it. He looked over at her and she was watching him with those big blue eyes. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to.

"Hey." her voice was still hoarse. He tentatively touched the scratches on her arm.

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

"Stop." he said. He fingered her hair. She watched his face as he played with it. There was so much she wanted to say, but words had consequences and she didn't have the strength to deal with that right now. So she did the one thing neither of them expected. She shifted on the bed so she was beside him and slid her hand behind his neck. Feathering her fingers through his hair, she leaned over and brushed her lips softly against his. She brought her other hand up to his cheek and deepened the kiss, taking his breath away and suddenly all there was, was this moment between them. He wrapped his hand around her waist and rolled her over on top of him. Her mouth was sweet and yielding and Daryl groaned as her tongue slipped between his lips. He took her face in his hands and all the sweetness from seconds before was gone. Their kissing was frantic, teeth grazed warm lips, their noses bumped, and the scruff of his beard left her cheeks red. The pressure of her small frame stretched out on top of him was more than he could handle.

"Beth…" he breathed.

She had his t-shirt twisted in her fists. This was the inbetween and she wanted to love him and have him love her back while they were both still here.

"I don't want to talk.. I don't want to think.. " she murmured. "Just love me Daryl."

What was he supposed to say to that? Self-control wasn't his strong point. But this was Beth. He rolled her over gently and looked into her eyes. He leaned his forehead against hers. She reached for the hem of his t-shirt and he let her pull it over his head. He did the same with hers. She sat up on her knees and unbuttoned her jeans and he watched. She pushed him back on the bed and climbed on top of him in nothing more than little bits of soft pink cotton. Daryl ran his hands down her body and when her hands went to the buttons on his jeans he stood up and took over so he could get them off faster. He slid them down and stepped out of them. He wasn't wearing anything underneath and when he looked at Beth the soft pink cotton was gone too. He kneeled on the bed in front of her feeling completely vulnerable. She must have been feeling the same because she brought her arms up to cover herself.

"Don't. You're beautiful." he took her hands and moved them.

"So are you." she sighed. And he was, but he'd never believe that. She'd have to show him.

He laid her back on the bed and kissed her. He was sure nothing in his life had ever felt quite like this. Sex wasn't something new. Not for him. But this feeling of falling into another person and being completely lost in her was so unfamiliar. They fell into a rhythm that threatened to push him over the edge so he slowed down and looked at her, really looked into her eyes. She reached up and traced his lips with her finger.

"I love you Daryl." she whispered.

That was it. He was done. He fell onto her and all his self-control was gone. Their bodies tangled together and her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. He was like something feral, but when he looked at her his eyes were soft and when he touched her it was like he was handling glass. She felt like a princess. Not a little girl he had been burdened with. She was making him feel this way. She was making him growl deep in the back of his throat. He nuzzled into her neck and whispered into her ear.

"I love you Beth.."

She wrapped her legs around his hips and let him take her over the edge. One final thrust and he pulled out and lay shaking on top of her. They were both trying to catch their breath. He rolled over and pulled her against him.

"That wasn't your first time." he asked quietly because he should have asked before.

"No, but it was the first time it felt right." she pulled the blankets on the bed up over them and Daryl wrapped both arms around her.


	15. Chapter 15

A knock on the door woke them both. Daryl got up and pulled on his jeans. He glanced at Beth and when she pulled the blankets up around herself he nodded and opened the door.

"We've got some walkers on the fence line and we're making this decision now. You still want to go?" Rick's voice was strained on the other side of the door.

"Yeah man. I think we should check it out." Daryl said. "We're coming out." he closed the door and finished getting dressed.

Beth got up and grabbed her clothes and did the same. She sat on the bed and zipped up her backpack. So much for the morning after. She didn't have the luxury of trying to determine where they stood now relationship wise and it wasn't really high on the list of important things to get done right now.

"We're leaving?" Beth asked.

"Mmhmm." he grunted. He watched her pull her hair back into a ponytail and strap on her knife.

"Just like that? We don't have a choice?" Beth looked at him.

He shrugged. "We have to move on. Too many walkers. Might as well give this guy a chance to prove he's got something better to offer us." Daryl said. He shouldered his crossbow and grabbed his backpack. "Let's cover those scratches before we go out." he said as he headed for the door.

Beth picked up her backpack and was ready to follow him when he suddenly stopped. He turned around and walked back over to her. He dropped his things and put his arms around her and whispered in her ear.

"We've got each others backs, but stay with me, no matter what. Promise me that.. I love you Beth." She nodded and he kissed her quickly and grabbed his things and then took her hand and they walked out the door.

There were weapons and ammo spread out on the table. Daryl grabbed a first aid kit and took out gauze for Beth's arm. He wrapped it and took a bandana from his pack and tied it over the gauze.

"Keep this with you." he said and he handed her the first aid kit.

"These are all loaded. Extra ammo is here." Carol said. She gestured to a small stack of boxes.

Beth picked up her pistol and checked the safety and then holstered it. She took the box of ammo Daryl handed her and out it and the first aid kit in her backpack.

Tara looked through the ammo and sighed. "Do we ever get to stay in one place" she mumbled.

"Standing still isn't an option." Abraham said coming up behind her and grabbing a rifle.

Otu back a few of the group were getting things together and others were taking out the remaining walkers along the back fence. Daryl and Beth walked up to Rick.

"What's the plan?" Daryl asked.

Rick looked around. "Everyone gather round." he called out. Carol came out followed by Carl and Tara.

"So the general consensus is the majority wants to check out Alexandria with Aaron. And considering the amount of walkers that keep showing up it's probably best that we move on anyway. I just want what's safe for my family. So we will go and we'll see. We'll take the suburban and the truck that Aaron came in. We are going to be cautious because these things have a way of going bad real quick." Rick said. He made eye contact with Daryl and then Michonne.

By the time they were ready to head out the sun was already setting. The walkers on the fence were gone. Everything had been locked up so that the place would be ready for anyone else who might need a safe place to stay. RIck took a group and they loaded up the suburban. Daryl and Beth and the rest went down to Aaron's truck in the woods. Daryl managed to maneuver it out to the road. Beth sat between Daryl and Abraham in the cab. The others were in the cargo area in the back. A small sliding window opened between the two spaces. Beth had been extremely quiet since they'd left. She stayed right beside Daryl just like he'd asked her too.

"You okay?" he put his arm around her and pulled her close. He was becoming a lot more comfortable with showing her affection in front of everyone and that made her feel good because right now she needed that. She nodded and leaned into him. They were running again from one thing to another, not knowing if it was safe. Her head ached. A dull ache where Dawn's bullet had grazed it.

"What the hell?!" Daryl pulled his arm from Beth and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. He swerved to avoid a walker that had stepped out of the darkness. Two more came out of nowhere.

"Jesus it's another horde! " Abraham gripped the dash. In the back of the truck Judith started crying.

"Where are they? I don't see the suburban's lights anymore!" Beth looked out into the night. Another road veered right. Daryl went that way to avoid the horde and all the bodies that had been run over by RIck.

"Where are you going? They're back there! We can't just leave them!" Beth's voice broke.

"Are you crazy girl? We can't stop here! There's too many walkers out there!" Daryl kept driving through the darkness and tried not to think about her accusation. Beth sat back and gripped the edge of the seat.

"They will get out of it. We need to get to a safe spot and come up with a plan to help them." Abraham said.

After driving a couple more miles they came to a bunch of buildings. It looked like a defunct lumberyard. Daryl pulled the truck over. Tyreese came to the small window.

"I have Aaron's flare gun. We could send up a flare. They'd know which direction to come." he said.

"Great idea. Let's move." Abraham got out followed by Daryl and Beth. Everyone had their weapons ready. Tyreese and Rosita climbed out of the back. Abraham took the flare gun and shot a flare directly above them.

"That might bring more than our guys. Watch for walkers." Tyreese said. The group moved tentatively towards the edge of the wooded area. Suddenly screams emanated from further ahead in the darkness. Abraham and Daryl shared look.

"Let's go." Daryl said.

They advanced slowly into the trees, with no light from the moon it was impossible to see much of anything. Beth felt rather than saw Daryl in front of her. Before her eyes adjusted at all to the darkness the sounds of running footsteps and breaking branches surrounded her. She reached out in front of her trying to locate Daryl. Glenn's voice calling to Maggie completely turned Beth around and she ran towards the scream. She tripped over what she hoped was a fallen log and branches whipped her bare skin. She heard Glenn's voice again and it was so close.

"Maggie can you stand?"

"I'm fine. Let's keep going!"

Maggie?!" Beth called out.

"Beth?!" Maggie and Glenn were suddenly right in front of her.

"Come on! Just ahead is shelter!" Beth said turing in the direction she was almost sure they needed to go. Daryl's voice came out of the darkness calling her name. He sounded so far away. He had just been right there in front of her. She'd lost him.

"Beth? Beth!"

More pounding footsteps and shadows. Beth, Maggie and Glenn came to the edge of the woods and then out into the open a few yards down from where Beth had gone in. The rest of both groups had made it out and were standing by the truck. Daryl was standing away from the rest of the group and when he saw Beth he started running towards her, but stopped short.

"Goddammit Beth! You were supposed to… " he leaned over with his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath and choke back the tears he didn't want anyone else to see. "... to stay."

She stopped utterly defeated. She'd promised.

"I'm sorry.." her voice was small and quiet. "It was so dark, I got turned around." Daryl straightened and went to her. He grabbed her by the shoulders.

" I can't fucking lose you again! Don't you get.. Don't you see.." he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her shoulder. She felt his silent sobs. She took his hand and brought it to her cheek.

"I'm here." Her lip trembled and her hand shook. It was too much to see Daryl break. Because he didn't break. And she didn't want to be the one to break him. Her tears seemed to bring him back and he took her face in his hands and he kissed her. He took a second to regain composure and then he took her hand and they walked back to the truck and the rest of the group who stood silently watching.

"We're all here." Glenn said.

"Everyone okay?" Daryl said gruffly.

"Yeah we're fine. You okay brother?" Rick asked him. He put a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"Mmmhmm." was his reply. Maggie stepped forward and took Beth's other hand. She looked at Daryl. "Sorry fer yelling.. " Maggie nodded and let Beth's hand go.

They decided to stay the night in the safety of the lumberyard. The flare hadn't attracted but a few walkers and Aaron was turned around in the darkness. They'd start out early in the morning and get the suburban and head for Alexandria with the daylight to help them.

They set up camp for the night in a large room of the main building. One candle in the middle of the room served as light. Daryl sat on the floor his back against the wall. His crossbow was on the floor beside him. Beth had crawled between his legs and sat with her knees under her chin and her back resting against his chest. And he let her. He seemed calmer if she was near. She thought she'd figured out what was going on, why he'd lost it when she'd been separated from him and why he would suddenly pull away when things got intense between the two of them. Standing out there on the edge of the forest watching him struggle to keep it together it had suddenly come to her. He was afraid of getting too close because that meant potentially getting hurt. Daryl had a big heart. He wanted to take care of others, needed too. But when he felt "too" much he would pull back. It was to late for that now though. He had admitted her loved her. He told her he couldn't live without her and now he was determined to keep her as close as possible so he could protect her. Daryl loved hard. She was seeing first hand how scared he was of losing her. And how terrified he was of loving her. He'd never had anyone love him back. He hadn't had a family like he did now. He mattered to other people. He would be missed if he were gone. And now the world they lived in was unforgiving. Any one of them could be taken away without warning at anytime. If you never let anyone else get too close then it wouldn't hurt as much. Her heart ached at the depth of Daryl's love for her and the others. And she'd let him down. She leaned over and rested her forehead on her knees. She wrapped her arms around her legs and held on tight. But it was no use her shoulders shook anyway.

"What's a matter?" he asked quietly resting his hands on her shoulders. Beth looked around at the room. Everyone had found a place to sit or lie down to try and get some sleep before morning. Beth stood up and took Daryl's hand and led him down a hallway to another room. He could see her face in the moonlight coming through the window they were standing by. She wasn't good at hiding her feelings. If it's possible for a person's whole being to mirror what was going on inside of them, then Beth was just sadness.

"Hey I told you it's okay." he said and he reached for her hand.

"No it's not. I made a promise and it meant something to you. It means something to me. And I'm sorry I didn't keep it Daryl." she spoke quietly. He didn't pull her close to him like he wanted to. He just watched her face and listened.

"We don't have any guarantees out here of seeing tomorrow.. Or even the end of each day. I would rather die trying to keep another promise to you than break it. I know it sounds silly and childish. But if I have to make a choice, it's always going to be you. So you can't push me away, you can't get scared…" she looked at the ground. A little nervous and embarrassed by her words.

Daryl nodded. Then he smiled. "Are you asking me to marry you Beth Greene?"

The expression on Beth's face was exactly what Daryl was aiming for. She looked completely horrified. "No! I just…." she stammered.

He pulled her up against him. "I'm teasing." he whispered. " I know what you mean. And it's always going to be you too. Me and you."


	16. Chapter 16

Morning came too soon. And with it the last leg of their journey to yet another "safe" place. They'd been here before and it never seemed to be what they hoped. Maybe there really wasn't anything left that provided the safety of the pre-apocalypse world.

Rick and Michonne brought the suburban back from where it had been stuck the night before. The once light blue vehicle was now bathed in blood and guts from the horde of walkers they'd encountered. It seemed like everything was always covered in blood.

The mood of the group was subdued. The last part of the drive seemed to be the toughest. For everyone. Including Aaron. Beth thought he would be eager to go home, but he just seemed lost.

"Let's head out!" Abraham said. He was anxious and only stood still if Rosita was next to him.

Beth bounced Judith on her hip. She stood at the bottom of the steps. She was feeling apprehensive about all of this. Carl came over to her.

"You can ride in the suburban with Judith if you want to. I'll switch." he said. He smiled at his baby sister,

"Thanks Carl, but I'm gonna stay in the truck." she glanced at Daryl as he came down the stairs with their backpacks. Beth handed the baby to Carl and took her pack. She had a promise to keep.

The sunlight filtered through the trees in the woods and Beth walked to the front of the truck. She stopped and looked into the woods. IT looked so different in the daylight without walkers. It was peaceful.

"Something out there?" Daryl asked. He came up behind her and leaned into her back.

"No. It's so normal, so quiet. I wish it was real." she said quietly.

"Mmmhmm.. Maybe someday. Come on." He took her hand and led her around the truck. He opened the driver's side door and she climbed into the middle.

Once the cars were loaded, they took the original route that Aaron had suggested at first. The one that he and his partner had cleared. Daryl drove, occasionally looking over at Beth. She looked tired and there were bags under her eyes that usually weren't there. But every time their eyes met she gave him a small smile. Daryl didn't know what they were walking onto. He hoped Alexandria was all that Aaron said it was. Judith and Carl deserved it. Hell they all deserved it. But Daryl refused to let himself hope for too much. His focus was as always, survival. He'd stand by Rick whatever his decision was. But he also had Beth to think of. He'd put her before anyone else now. She was a part of him. And that was terrifying, but it was also the most amazing thing Daryl had ever felt.

When they drove up to the gates they couldn't see what was waiting on the other side. Everyone got out of the cars. I was late afternoon and the sun was beginning it's declination in the western sky. Beth watched Rick. Everyone watched Rick. Afterall he was going to be the one to call it. They'd all follow Rick's lead. They always had. Beth heard laughter, children's laughter. Rick heard it too. He saw Beth watching him and he smiled at her. Michonne carried Judith over and stood beside him.

"We're doing this right?" she asked handing him his daughter. Rick looked around at the others and then he smiled at Michonne.

"We're doing this." he said. He took Judith and nodded at Aaron. Aaron called to some one on the other side of the gate and it slowly rolled open. Rick and Michonne followed Aaron through the gate.

Daryl reached for Beth's hand and they headed for the gate. Once they stepped inside they were met by a man. Aaron had called him Nicholas. He immediately told them they needed to surrender their weapons in order to continue inside. This was an immediate red flag to everyone and Rick stepped forward.

"It's okay." Aaron said. "Nicholas I've got this." He tried to diffuse the situation before it got out of control. Beth was still in awe of how well he knew the group. Nicholas eyed Rick and Daryl suspiciously. Daryl took his crossbow off his shoulder and brought it up in front of him. Beth stepped beside him and put her hand on her gun at her hip.

"Come one everyone. Deanna would like to meet you." Aaron said. He stood in front of Nicholas and let them pass.

They did end up surrendering their guns, but they were able to keep their knives. Daryl would have never handed over his crossbow without a fight. Beth looked around in wonder as they walked through the neighborhood. It was like nothing had changed here. People were acting like what was on the other side of the walls didn't even exist. That was more terrifying than comforting. They gathered in a small paved area outside the house and took their turns being interviewed by Deanna Monroe, the woman who seemed to be in charge. Daryl paced. Beth watched him from the stairs where she sat trying to imagine a life where you could pretend monsters didn't exist. Until the walls came down. And they would. She was sure of that. Because nothing that was safe lasted forever.

"Mr. Dixon?" the older woman called Deanna stood at the top of the stairs smiling down at Daryl. He eyed her suspiciously for a few seconds then headed up the stairs. He brushed Beth's shoulder lightly with his fingers as he passed her.

"Daryl do you want to be here?" Deanna asked. She was sitting, relaxed at a table. Daryl was still pacing. He looked like a caged animal, he was sure of it, but he didn't care. He wasn't trying to impress her or make her think he was anything other than what she saw.

"The boy and the baby, they deserve this." he said gruffly.

"Tell me about the young girl, Beth. Is she with you?" Daryl's brow furrowed. He'd been taken off guard.

"Why don't you ask her?" he said.

"Oh I will. I'm just curious as to how you'd answer that." Deanna smiled complacently.

The group has taken to Beth and Daryl's relationship with very little concern for the differences between them. But that was because the knew Daryl and Beth intimately. These people here were strangers. And for the most part they could only go by what they saw and pass judgement on that. This made Daryl angry.

"It's none of your business about me and Beth." he said defensively.

"What did you do for the group?" Deanna asked ignoring his anger at her last question.

Daryl didn't reply right away. He looked out the window at the group of bedraggled, tired people below. His people.

"I made sure they had what they needed to survive. I protected them when I had too. What do you mean what did I do? They're my family!" Another useless, irritating question.

"Okay Daryl. Well I'm hoping that once I get to know you, we can find a place for you here." That smile again, it was unnerving and Daryl just wanted to get out of this house.

"Uh huh." he said. "That all?" He started walking towards the door.

Deanna got up and followed him. "Yes. For now." she said.

He bounded down the stairs. Beth could feel his agitation and she stood up to follow him.

"Beth?" Deanna called her name. Daryl stopped and turned to look at Beth. Deanna watched the silent interaction between them and noted the fact that Daryl's eyes never left Beth as she climbed the stairs. There was nothing possessive or controlling in his gaze, in fact all Deanna saw was a fierce love and protectiveness.

"Have a seat Beth." Deanna gestured to seat at the table. Beth sat down and Deanna followed her. "I'm Deanna Monroe."

"It's nice to meet you." Beth said softly.

"So what do you think of Alexandria so far?" Deanna asked her.

"It's nice." Beth said a bit stiffly.

"Is that really how you feel?" Deanna asked.

Beth shifted uncomfortably. "Well it seems unreal. Like you're hiding from the truth behind these walls." Beth looked at her with clear, blue eyes.

"Really? I guess that's a fair assumption. I don't feel we're hiding. Just adapting." Deanna took a drink of water from a glass on the table. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Beth continued to stare. She knew ot was rude. She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"How old are you?"

Beth sighed and looked at Deanna. She knew where this was going. "I'm almost 20."

"What do you do? What's your role in the group?"

Beth hadn't expected that question. "Well I help Rick with Judith. And I helped out with the other children when they were with us. I use to help my daddy with medical things." Beth said.

"I'm so sorry for your loss Beth." Deanna said gently.

"Thank you." Beth looked at her hands. "When we lost the prison and had to leave, Daryl taught me how to track and to use his crossbow. I've taken out my fair share of walkers." Beth was proud of her strength now. "I've also defended myself against people too. I've done what I need to in order to survive." She didn't want this woman thinking she was weak.

"Are you involved with Mr. Dixon?" the woman asked.

"Meaning?" Beth was immediately defensive. This was what she had been expecting earlier.

"Look it's probably none of my business. You seem so young."

"The world out there is nothing like the facade you've created in here. You want to try and live by rules that no longer apply- go ahead." Beth stood up. "I am with Mr. Dixon. He's my family. They all are. And you're right it is none of your business!" she stomped out the back door and down the stairs. She headed to the gate forcing back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Beth?!" Daryl followed her. He didn't stop her, just caught up to her and walked beside her.

"I'm not staying here." she said. He could feel her anger and he heard the tears in her voice.

"What happened?" he asked gently.

"This, this is all just, it's fake. We can't go back to the way the world was before. We can't forget everything we've been through. They have no idea…" she wiped away the tears of anger and frustration that finally fell.

Daryl reached out for her arm to stop her. "Did she ask about me an you?" he asked softly.

Beth nodded. "As if out of everything we've been through, everything we've lost, this is the thing that she's most interested in? My age? Us?" Beth crossed her arms.

"Does it matter to you what others are thinkin'?" Daryl asked tentatively.

"What?! No! Not you too!" Beth took off walking again. Daryl forced himself not to smile. He often wondered how she felt about this, others opinions of their relationship, and he had been afraid of how she'd answer. But she didn't care. Her honesty radiated of her like sunlight.

He ran ahead of her and blocked her way. "Hold up girl!" he said. She looked up at him with fire in her eyes.

"I'll have you know my daddy was 24 years older than my momma." she had her hands on her hips now and Daryl couldn't keep the smile off his face any longer.

"What's so funny?" she threw her hands in the air.

"Sorry." he covered his mouth. "It ain't none of her business. It ain't no one's." He reached for her hand and pulled her to him. She relaxed in his arms.

There were still questions they both wanted to ask. Beth wanted to know if it bothered Daryl that she was so much younger than him or if what others thought mattered. Daryl wondered if Beth would have even looked at him before the apocalypse or if she'd even be with him now if her daddy had lived. But the answers didn't change anything. This was now. And this was the way it was supposed to be.


	17. Chapter 17

They were given two houses side by side, but they chose to stay together at night for now. It felt safer. Aaron told them to enjoy hot showers and to go explore Alexandria. Daryl and Beth sat on the front porch. Beth was on the floor leaning against the railing where Daryl was sitting restringing his crossbow. One by one the group came out of one house or the other freshly showered. They were using both to shower. Rick came out last. He had a clean shaven face.

Beth smiled. "Wow! You clean up nice sheriff!" she teased. He smiled at her.

"Get that guy to do the same." Rick said nodding his head at Daryl. She watched him walk off down the street.

"I think I'll take a shower too." she stood up and looked at Daryl.

"Mmmhmm." he mumbled totally engrossed in what he was doing.

She walked over to the door and stopped. He looked up at her when he didn't hear the door open. She was just standing there looking indecisive and unsure of what to do next.

"Ain't you going?" he asked. He looked at her, blue eyes under a fringe of dirty hair.

"Yeah, but Daryl we are alone. Everyone left." she wasn't quite sure how to go about flirting with Daryl Dixon. She tried a knowing smile, but her face felt stiff and he was just sitting there staring at her. Daryl knew exactly what she was doing. He just didn't have any idea what to do with it. Their flirting was awkward. Neither of them had much experience with it. Her because she was young and him because in the world before he hadn't been in those types of relationships.

She sighed. "Do you want to take a shower with me? You know, together?"

He dropped the spool of string he was holding and it rolled over and hit her foot. He jumped up to grab it and she bent over at the same time to pick it up. Their hands touched and they both stood up quickly. Daryl saw the blush on her face and felt heat on his own.

"Come on. Let's go in." he said quietly reaching for the doorknob.

The house was huge and empty. The furniture and decorations seemed completely out of place. Fake flowers in a vase, art work on the walls. And it was clean. Beth felt like she should take off her shoes before walking on the carpets. They wandered through the kitchen with it's marble counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Daryl reached for Beth's hand and they went upstairs. Rick's stuff was on the floor of the first bedroom they looked in. The next room had a twin bed and was obviously a child's room. The third room had a double bed and a door leading to a bathroom. No one's stuff was on the bed or floor so Daryl led Beth into it. He laid his crossbow on the bed and took of his vest and tossed it on top. He went over and closed the bedroom door. Beth had already gone into the bathroom. He heard the shower. He wasn't sure what to do next. Undress in the bedroom or the bathroom? He pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his boots. He leaned down and pulled off his socks. When he stood up Beth was in the doorway wrapped in just a towel.

"Are you coming?" she smiled shyly.

"If you drop that towel." he replied meeting her eyes. There he'd given it his best shot. It still felt awkward. But it must have been right because the towel was on the floor at Beth's feet. He walked over to her and reached behind her head and loosened her ponytail so her hair fell down in waves over her shoulders. Cupping her face in his hands he leaned down and kissed her. Beth was dizzy. Every time Daryl kissed her the world seemed to spin. She reached for the belt loops on his pants to steady herself and her fingers brushed the button on his fly.

"Take them off." he whispered in her ear. And then he was kissing her neck and shoulder and she couldn't think straight. She tugged at the button and zipper on his pants and pushed them down over his hips. He used his legs to get them the rest of the way off while he continued to drive her crazy nipping at her neck. They made their way into the bathroom and Daryl kicked the door shut. Steam from the hot shower filled the room. Beth reached for the handle on the glass door and stepped under the spray of hot water. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Daryl joined her and reached for a bar of soap. For a minute they forgot all about what they had been doing to each other and just took advantage of the hot water.

"Shampoo!" Beth screeched and she grabbed the bottle. It smelled like lavender and Daryl didn't even complain when she reached over and massaged a handful into his hair. Her touch felt good. Not to mention the fact that she was pressed up against his back completely naked and wet. He turned to face her and rinse the shampoo from his hair. When he opened his eyes she was looking at him. A part of him actually. Daryl felt self conscious for a second until she knelt down in front of him. He backed up against the tile wall. If he didn't lean against something he was going to fall over. He was so turned on looking down at her big blue eyes staring up at him.

"Beth…" he breathed. She took his hardness in her hand and he shivered.

"Okay?" she questioned. He nodded unsure if her asking permission or what she was going to do was better. He got his answer when her hot mouth was where her hand use to be.

"Damn girl!" he groaned and he had to control the urge to thrust his hips forward. He didn't want to hurt her. Although she was doing everything right he had a feeling her experience with this particular activity was limited.

Beth had done this twice in her life before Daryl. Two boys, two awkward, rushed blow jobs. The parts were the same, but this time was different. She wanted to do it and she wanted him to like it. Daryl's reaction let her know that she was doing good so far. He was hard and soft at the same time.

As good as it felt he had to stop her because he didn't want to finish yet. He reached down and eased her up against his chest. He kissed her softly.

"You ain't done that much have you?" he breathed into her mouth.

"No.. Was it wrong?" she pulled away from him and searched his face.

"Oh god no! It was good.. Too good! But I don't want to finish in your mouth. I want to be inside you Beth." he said. That made her knees weak. He found the bar of soap and lathered up her body paying special attention to her breasts. He turned her so her back was against the wall. He slid his hands down her slippery body until he was on his knees with one of her legs draped over his shoulder.

"But first I want to show you how good you made me feel." She could only nod. She didn't know how it was possible to feel his breath in this steamy shower, but she could. He kissed the inside of her thigh and licked his way between her legs. She'd never had this done to her before. When his tongue lightly flicked her clit she shuddered and put her hands on his head to steady herself. He swirled his tongue inside of her once and then stood up and wrapped her leg around his waist. She kissed him and she tasted herself on him.

"Look at me." he said huskily. Her pupils were huge. Not taking his eyes from hers, he guided himself and pushed inside her. He watched her bite down on her bottom lip as he pulled out slowly and then thrust back in with a little more force.

"Harder Daryl, do it harder." she whispered.

He wasn't gonna last long. Not when she talked like that. He held her hip and thrust into her harder like she wanted. Her head fell forward onto his shoulder.

"Yes.. Like that.." she breathed.

"Look at me. I want to watch your face when I make you come." he said pushing her against the tile with his body.

"You mean when I make you come?" she licked her lips and that did it for him. He braced himself with one hand against the wall as his orgasm hit him. She followed seconds later watching his face and loving that she made this happen.

They stood in the lukewarm shower and tried to catch their breath. When Daryl felt Beth shivering against him he reached up and turned off the water. They stepped out of the shower and wrapped up in towels.

They had to put their own clothes back on because there wasn't anything in the closets that was going to fit either of them. They went back outside and walked the wall because Daryl wanted to see how strong it seemed. Beth looked at the houses and the few Alexandrians they saw and felt completely out of place. It just didn't seem normal here. She wondered if this could ever feel normal. She caught up with Daryl and reached for his hand lacing her fingers through his.

"Let's go back and see what everyone thinks. This place makes me feel lonely." she said.

Daryl glanced over at her. He felt something too. He wasn't sure it was loneliness, but it was definitely an empty feeling like loneliness.

"Okay." he said. He noticed people watching them as they walked and this made him uncomfortable. He moved closer to Beth and he saw that she was watching the strangers too.

The sun was setting and there were candles in some of the windows. The house where they had all decided to stay together tonight was lit up with candles too and both Beth and Daryl were eager to be inside it's walls with their people, away from the curious stares of their new neighbors.


	18. Chapter 18

Daryl woke up before the others and slipped out to walk around Alexandria again. This place was too normal and normal wasn't possible anymore. At least not the normal from before the world changed. These people weren't prepared for what could happen, what would happen eventually. These walls wouldn't hold forever. And it might not even be walkers that breached them. Daryl watched as Aaron came out of the garage of his house. He saw Daryl and raised a hand and waved. Daryl wasn't sure about approaching the man. He wasn't good with feelings and he knew the man must be going through a lot after losing his partner. But he was walking towards Daryl and it wasn't like he could pretend he hadn't seen the man.

"Good morning Daryl. Are you guys settling in a little?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're okay." Daryl said. The stood there awkwardly. Daryl looked over Aaron's shoulder and saw a half finished body of a motorcycle and a bunch of parts lying around. "You building a bike?" Aaron turned to the garage.

"Me? No. That's just stuff I picked up on runs. I thought maybe one day it would be useful. I don't know anything about motorcycles or rebuilding them. Are you familiar with them?" Aaron turned back to Daryl.

"Yeah a bit. You mind?" he gestured towards the garage.

"Be my guest." Aaron said. The two of them walked into Aaron's garage. Daryl walked around checking out the parts. They were in good shape and definitely usable. It would be cool to have another bike. He'd left Merle's behind at the prison.

"You're' welcome to it. Actually there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Aaron said.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked.

"Since I lost Eric, my partner, I have been thinking about a replacement. I mean obviously I need help, but it can't just be anyone. I was watching your group for some time. And I feel like you'd be a good man for the job." Aaron said,

"Why me?" Daryl looking at him curiously.

"You have a good read on people. That's important in my line of work." Aaron smiled at him. "We are choosing who to bring in to Alexandria."

"Shouldn't be bringing people in." Daryl said as he knelt down to examine the bike body.

"We have to expand. We need people to live and work and develop this place." Aaron said.

"Mmm maybe. But it's not that easy with people." Daryl said.

"I know. That's why I need you. There are still good people out there Daryl and I think that you can see that in them." Aaron said. Daryl looked at Aaron, struck by his words. Words that echoed in his head from another time.

"What do you do?" Daryl asked.

"I go out scouting. We have maps that we have used to keep track of where we've been and we go out a little further each time." Aaron said.

"So you're out there for awhile?" Daryl checked the spokes on a wheel, testing their strength.

"Yes. A couple weeks at a time. Maybe longer when I go out further." Aaron said.

"Mmmm.. I don't know how that would work. Can't be gone that long." Daryl said. He looked out of the garage and into the street. He was thinking of Beth. They'd made a promise to each other to stick together. From now on they'd have each others back. He wouldn't sacrifice that promise he had made to her. Not for anyone or anything. Aaron watched him silently.

"Your girl?" he asked. Daryl nodded. "She'd be safe here. With family."

Daryl stood up. "Ain't gonna work that way." He walked out of the garage and started down the street.

"Daryl! Wait.. " Aaron jogged up to him. "We might be able to figure something out. Just think about it okay?" Daryl looked at Aaron. He brought his thumb nail to his lips and bit it. And he nodded.

"Mmmm hmmm. I'll think about it." he said and he turned and walked away.

When Daryl walked back up to the house they had stayed in the night before, Deanna was on the porch with Rick.

"Good morning Daryl." she said. "I was just telling Rick how I thought it was nice to see you all stayed together last night."

Daryl wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that so he said nothing. The door to the house was open and upon hearing his name Beth walked out. She had on clean jeans and a black tank top and flannel. She'd obviously found more clothes. Daryl needed to find out where. She smiled when they made eye contact and leaned against the door. Last night they'd all slept together in the living room. Beth had curled up in the window seat and Daryl had laid on the floor next to her. He wanted to tell her to just come down on the floor with him, but he felt uncomfortable with all the others in the room with them.

"So Aaron talked to you about your job? I trust his judgement and he says you are the perfect choice." Deanna said smiling at him.

"Job?" Beth said looking at Daryl questioningly. Her heart started pounding and she wasn't exactly sure why.

"He mentioned it. I never agreed to anything." Daryl said his eyes on Beth.

"Well certainly think about." the woman said.

"We'll see." Daryl replied. He stepped past Beth and headed for the kitchen. He heard her footsteps behind him. There were pastries and fruit on the counter. Daryl picked nervously at the grapes.

"You got a job?" Beth asked him. "Is that where you were this morning?" She'd woken up and found him gone. He hadn't been showering or anywhere else in the house. She'd panicked a little and then convinced herself it was ridiculous to worry. He was obviously out looking around.

"Woke up early. I went out ta look around and ran into Aaron. He offered me a job." Daryl said.

"Well that's good right? What is it? He's a…." It suddenly dawned on Beth what it was that Aaron did for Alexandria. "..recruiter. He goes outside the walls looking for people right?" she said, her tone of voice suddenly tremulous. Recruiter meant leaving Alexandria, going back out there. She hadn't really thought about Daryl not being here with her. "Oh." her shoulders drooped and Daryl knew exactly what she was thinking. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Rick said we could spread out and find our own spots. I'm gonna go next door and see what Maggie and Glenn have found." she turned and hurriedly headed out the back door.

He followed her letting the back door slam. "Beth, wait! I thought we picked a room here?" he said taking the back steps two at a time to meet her on the grass where she had stopped. She looked up at him and he saw there were tears in her eyes.

"Stop." he said gently. "I didn't say I'd do it. I was gonna talk to you first. I ain't going nowhere for that long. Not without you." he reached out and took her hand. Beth laughed lightly.

"It's stupid I know. Obviously we're gonna have to do things apart and try to have normal lives." she shook her head trying to regain her composure.

"Ain't nothing normal no more. This place, these people. They don't get it. And I'm not leaving you alone here to go out there,"

"Don't say never Daryl. You might have too. I know that." Beth said softly.

"Plenty other things I can maybe.." he glanced down at their intertwined hands. Her small, soft thumb was rubbing the spot between his thumb and finger. "Maybe you'd come with me." he said. He raised his eyes to hers and he saw exactly what he'd wanted to see. Beth's smile.

"Really?" she asked. "I wouldn't just get in the way?" she asked.

"You know good people. Better than me. Hell you think I'm good." he said hoarsely. He was still amazed by that. Not many people in his life had thought he was much of anything. But she did.

"Cause you are." she stepped towards him and he put his arms around her.

"I gotta do something. Can't just sit here doing nothing. It's making me antsy." The sun was shining and somewhere someone was mowing a lawn. Walkers, dead things, were outside these walls and some fool was mowing their damn lawn.

"Do you think being behind these walls made them weak?" Beth asked. She looked up at him.

"Nah, they've always been weak." Daryl said. "They ain't been out there like us."

"I don't want to feel like that again. I'm afraid if we stay here too long we'll be like them." Beth said quietly.

"This place ain't gonna last that long. I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has." he said. She put her head on his chest.

"Why are we here then?"

" I guess we gotta try. Maybe make a difference." he looked around the backyard.

"See! You are good.." she laughed. He made a mad face at her and hugged her closer. The backdoor next door opened and Maggie stuck her head out.

"You guys want lunch? I have to meet with Deanna soon. Come help Beth." she called.

"Go on. I'm gonna go check out that bike again." Daryl said. He put his hand on the back of Beth's head and kissed her on her forehead.

Over the next few weeks the people of Alexandria probably thought the group was settling in. They weren't really settling or adapting, they were waiting. Settling would be to easy. Rick firmly believed the community needed them, if only to help them realize what the world beyond the walls was really like. They needed to learn to take care of themselves, this place, when the time came and they had to defend those walls. This place gave the group a respite. It was better than struggling on the road, but it was probably just a temporary home, like all the others.

Daryl spent a lot of time working on the bike in Aaron's garage. He eventually went on a couple of dry runs with Aaron to get and idea of what they'd be doing. They were day trips and Beth had stayed behind. But he had brought up the idea of bringing Beth with them. Aaron didn't have a problem with it at all. He smiled and told Daryl he was lucky to have someone he loved so much he couldn't be away from her. That made Daryl a little uncomfortable. But later when it was just him and Beth in their room with one candle lit and he looked into her big blue eyes he knew he was lucky.

Beth helped with Judith and did some inventory in the armory and the food storage. She talked with Reg alot, he was a really nice man and reminded her of her dad. Most of the people here were nice. But she was bored. The second time Daryl went out she begged Glenn to take her with him when a group was going out looking for micro-inverters to help with a power shortage. Tara and Eugene were going as well as Tyreese and Aiden and Nicholas.

"Ok. But if Daryl get's mad at me later I'm gonna blame it all on you." Glenn said.

"He'll be fine with it." Beth said not sure that was completely true. They headed out in a van to a warehouse nearby that Aiden and Nicholas had found other electrical supplies in a few weeks back.

"How do you like it here Beth? It must be nice having a bed and shower." Aiden smiled at her. Something about that smile unnerved her.

"It's fine. A little too quiet." she said.

"Well once your boyfriend gets that bike running it won't be so quiet." he laughed. "That is your boyfriend right?" he eyed Beth suspiciously.

"Yes Daryl is my boyfriend." she turned in Tara's direction. "Did you ever find those books you were looking for?" She asked the other girl. Tara gave her a funny look and then caught on that she was trying to avoid talking to Aiden.

"I did. Well one actually. I am still looking for the other one, but I figure someone must have a copy of.. of that book somewhere." she tried not to laugh. Beth smiled at her, relieved she wasn't alone with just the guys.

The drive to the warehouse took about an hour and a half. Once they got there they cleared the outside of walkers and headed in, splitting up. Glenn made Beth stay with him and Tyreese to keep an eye out for walkers. Eugene and Tara walked the rows of boxed electronic equipment until Eugene located what they needed. Nicholas and Aiden were checking everything else out to see if anything was useful. Some boxes fell as Eugene and Tara maneuvered them to pull out the ones they needed. The sound attracted walkers on both sides and they were surrounded really quickly. There was no order and Aiden panicked when a walker in full armor came from the back of the warehouse and headed directly towards him. He raised his gun and Glenn tried to warn him not to shoot, but he didn't listen. An explosion ripped through the building. Beth felt herself thrown across the aisle from the impact. Her body hit a row of shelving and she felt someone cover her body with theirs.

"Beth are you ok?" It was Glenn. He sat up and felt for her arms.

"Yeah I'm okay. My ears are ringing. Where is everyone else?" They stood up. Dust and smoke filled the air making it impossible to see clearly.

"Tyreese?" Glenn called.

"I'm here. I'm okay." he called back.

"Eugene?" There was no answer.

"Tara?" Beth called.

"She's hurt. She's hurt!" It was Eugene's voice and he sounded scared and nervous. Glenn and Beth made their way in his direction. They found them behind a toppled shelving unit in a small office. Tara was on the ground with a gash on her temple. Suddenly they heard Nicholas yelling from out in the warehouse.

"Stay here with them Beth. I'll come back for you all. Just stay." Glenn said. Beth nodded and looked over at Eugene who looked terrified.

"I'm not good with these things. I am a coward." he told Beth.

"You'll be fine." she knelt beside Tara. Her vitals were strong. She was just unconscious.

Beth heard yelling from the warehouse. She went to the door and tried to listen. She stepped out of the office and saw more walkers. They weren't going to be safe here.

"We need to get out Eugene. Can you carry her?" Beth asked. The man was frozen. "Eugene we need to move now. Pick her up and follow me. I'll cover you." Beth said frantically. He watched her pull out her knife and something in him kicked in and her picked up Tara.

"Okay. Let's go out the back door we came in. The van is there." he said and Beth led the way. They made it to the van and Beth paced back and forth while Eugene put Tara in the back. They should be out by now. Something must have gone wrong. Just when she was ready to go back in alone and find out what happened they came around the corner of the building. But it was bad. Nicholas and Glenn had Tyreese between them. His arm was wrapped up and there was a lot of blood.

"Can you drive Beth?" Beth nodded and slid the back door open so the men could get Tyreese and themselves in.

"This is on you. You are why this happened." Glenn said. Beth glanced over her shoulder. Her brother in law was livid.

"What happened?" Where's Aiden?" she asked.

"During the explosion he was impaled on metal pipe. We couldn't get him off in time. He wouldn't have survived. Then this… this asshole, he refused to listen and Tyreese was bitten." Glenn tighten a rope around Tyreese's upper arm. From the elbow down there was no longer an arm. "We need to get him to Pete." Glenn said. He looked closer at Beth. "You're bleeding. Shit. I'm dead."

Beth looked in the rearview mirror. "It's just a cut. It's nothing. Don't worry about me." She didn't tell him that her head was aching like it had after she'd left Grady hospital. It felt like it took a lot longer going back than coming. Beth concentrated on the road and when they finally pulled up to the gate she gave one short honk. It was Aiden's brother Spencer who was waiting. He pulled the gate open and Beth drove right to the front of the infirmary. She jumped out and pulled the vans sliding door open. She ran up the stairs and pounded on the door until it was opened by a blonde man in glasses.

"We need help. There's injuries." Beth said, He glanced at her head and she reached up and felt the side of her face. It was sticky with blood. "Not me. The van." she stepped back. Nicholas and Glenn lifted Tyreese out and Sasha came running up.

"Ty?! Ty! What happened?" she tried to see but they pushed past her into the infirmary. Eugene picked up Tara and followed them.

Maggie and Rick came running up. Maggie's face fell when she saw Beth.

"I'm ok. It's a cut. Tara was knocked out. Tyreese, he was bitten. Glenn cut off his arm… He's, they're in there." Beth said weakly. Maggie hurried up the stairs. Rick turned Beth so she was facing him.

"You okay?" he asked. He looked at her temple, moving her hair back. "Carol can take care of that." he said. Beth just nodded. The van was parked haphazardly in the street and more of the residents were drifting over to see what the commotion was. "I'm going in." Rick said. "I'll be right back."

"Wait." Beth grabbed his arm. "Aiden. He's dead. There was an explosion. He did't make it." she whispered. Rick hugged her.

"Okay. Sit tight. I'll walk you back." Rick said walking up the stairs.

"Daryl?" Beth said.

"Not back yet." Rick disappeared inside the infirmary and Beth sank down on the stairs. She was dizzy and the adrenaline rush she'd had early was subsiding. Olivia, the woman from the armory sat down beside her.

"You're bleeding pretty good there, can I.." she started and then Beth heard him.

"Beth! Beth!" Daryl was running towards the infirmary from the front gate. Beth stood up and walked slowly out into the street. She was crying and it was hard to see him through the tears.

"Daryl.." she said. And then he was there and she was wrapped in his arms, her face buried in his chest and she could breathe again.

"What the hell? What's going on?" he looked at her and put his hand on her head over the blood.

"It's just a cut. We, there was an explosion." Beth saw Reg and Deanna hurrying towards the infirmary. She pushed Daryl in the direction of their houses. "I need to find Carol. She can fix it." she looked over her shoulder and watched as they ran into the infirmary.

"You're hurt. Why? Where'd ya go Beth?" Beth shook her head and just kept walking.


	19. Chapter 19

**Short update. I'm trying to get both my fics updated before Sunday. I don't think I will be able to focus on writing anything until the finale is over and I process what's coming. I don't think it's going to be good. :( Hugs to you all! And thank you for reading my stuff! PS... the evolution of my "smut writing" is taking place right before your eyes.. I've been working on it!**

19\. Daryl waited out on the porch while Carol took care of Beth's injury from the botched run. He was angry. Angry that she had went and angry that it went bad. But he knew that saying anything about it would just make it worse. So he was determined not to keep quiet. Maybe. Carol came out on the porch and leaned on the railing next to Daryl.

"It wasn't anything. Just a bump. Head wounds bleed a lot." she said.

"Yeah? Where's she at?" he flicked his cigarette over the railing.

"Bathroom. Said she wasn't feeling good." Carol said.

Daryl just nodded and they stood in silence. They hadn't talked much lately. Daryl had been so caught up in what was going on between him and Beth he hadn't really spent any time with anyone else. He realized that when he was out with Aaron. He also realized that he was okay with being with Beth for the majority of the time.

"Everything good?" Daryl asked her and she gave him a funny look.

"Yeah. It's fine." Carol said. "Why?"

"I dunno.. Just askin'." he mumbled.

"Ok.. Well thank you for asking. How about you?" she smiled.

"It's good." he said. Carol gave him a questioning look.

"That's all.. Just good? From what I can see, it's really good. You're in a good place Daryl. Does that have anything to do with her?" Carol asked looking towards the door.

"Mmmm. Maybe." Daryl said.

The door opened and Beth came out. Her face was pale and she just looked tired. Daryl couldn't be angry when he saw her looking like that. She gave him a small smile.

"Thanks Carol. Sorry about that. Too much excitement today and not enough food." Beth said trying to laugh it off.

"You sick?" Daryl asked her.

"Just tired and hungry. I'll be fine." she hoped her words assured him. She wasn't feeling fine, but she didn't want him to think she couldn't handle herself out there, alone or with him. She really felt like she had to be getting sick, flu or something. What had happened was bad yes, but she'd been through worse and come out fine on the other side.

"I'm gonna go home and eat and take a bath. It's been a hard day." she started down the stairs and Daryl followed her.

"Hey wait up." he moved in next to her and took her hand. "What's goin' on?" he asked.

"I told you.. I need food and rest. Just tired is all." she kept her eyes on the ground in front of her.

"Bullshit. I know you girl. " She was a really bad liar. He stepped in front of her forcing her stop and look at him. "Tell me." he whispered.

She shuddered and the tears came before she even had a chance to try and hold them back.

"It was hard. Tara, Aiden and then Tyreese.. And it was their fault! They have no clue how to survive Daryl! And we might lose one of our people because of their stupidity. It was just hard. I don't want to say Aiden deserved what he got, but if he'd just listened.." she sighed and stepped into rest against Daryl. "Just… let's go home." she breathed into his chest.

The next morning Beth wasn't in bed next to him when he woke up. He heard the shower turn off and she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"Feelin' better?" he patted the empty space next to him and slipped back under the covers leaving the towel beside the bed on the floor.

"I think so." she brushed the hair from his eyes.

"A bath last night and a shower this mornin', you feelin' dirty girl?" he smiled at his own little joke. And she snuggled in closer.

"I might be." she hooked her leg over his hip and he growled and grabbed it pulling it up further. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him softly licking into his mouth. He rolled her back on the bed and kissed along her jaw. He whispered hotly in her ear.

"Don't start something you can't finish girl." She smelled so damn good. Soap and shampoo and just Beth. He was so used to that smell, of her. He'd never get tired of it.

"Oh I plan on finishing." she breathed. "In fact, you need to be back over there.." she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed and she straddled his thighs. "That's better. But we need to get rid of these." she tugged at the waistband of the boxers he had on. Since they had come to Alexandria he had ditched sleeping in his jeans for the boxers. She kept hinting that he should just sleep naked. She did most of the time and he loved having her warm naked body pressed up against him all night. He just hadn't been able to be that free yet. Maybe eventually.

"You're gonna have ta help me." he said huskily and he lifted his hips and pushed the elastic band down. She moved off his legs and pulled the boxers the rest of the way off. He was hard underneath. And she smiled smugly. "Whatcha smiling for? You think you did that?" he teased. She nodded and reached down and took him in her hand. He gasped. Since when had she become so forceful. "What's up with you girl?" he breathed heavily.

"You want me to stop?" she said lightly.

"No. No.. don't stop. Keep doing what you're doing." he mumbled as he felt her warm breath on his cock. He thought she kinda liked doing this. She'd cornered him a couple of times when no one else was home and had teased him until he let her have her way. In the house where anyone could walk in and catch them. She had him wrapped around her little finger. And now she had her tongue wrapped around him and if she didn't slow down this would be over real quick. "Beth come up here." he grabbed her under the arms and pulled her up next to him.

" Why? I just started.." she pouted.

"But I want you up here." he ran his hands the length of her body and stopped at her breasts. Her nipples were hard and he ran his thumbs over them both at the same time. Beth arched her back and moaned. Now he was in control. That was a little better. He leaned in and kissed her pinching her nipples lightly so that she bucked against him. He pushed her legs apart and slid his body between them. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he felt her rubbing against his hard cock. That was all the invitation he needed. He reached between them and gripped his cock in his hand and rubbed against her hot core.

"I want you inside of me Daryl!" she gripped his arms and pushed herself against him. He kissed her and gave her what she wanted, thrusting his hips forward and sinking himself all the way in. "Yeeesss…" she sighed. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and nipped lightly at her. She squirmed underneath him which was a benefit for him because her moving around like that felt really good. She slipped a hand between their bodies and down between her legs. That was new. She hadn't done that before. Daryl wasn't complaining at all. It was hot watching her.

Beth couldn't get enough. She needed to feel more. They definitely hadn't been doing this enough lately. And she missed it. Missed him. This was the closest they could be. And she relished these moments. Not to mention the fact that she had been extremely horny the past week. She had even cornered Daryl in the kitchen and teased him into letting her give him a blow job. And that wasn't the first time she'd done that. Something was definitely going on. Daryl had turned her into a sex fiend. Every part of her body seemed overly sensitive to his touch and just him in general. She craved him.

Beth wrapped her legs around Daryl's lower back and took her hand from between them and slipped a finger into his mouth. He completely lost it then. Being inside her and it feeling so tight and then licking her juices off her fingers. It was too much and he pumped a couple more times and his body went rigid. He rolled over beside her, his heart pounding, trying to catch his breath. Beth curled up next him with her head on his chest.

"Not done yet.." he breathed. "You didn't.. " he took a deep breath and rolled over to face her. "You didn't come yet." he said.

"I know. But you were so caught up and I love watching you when you're like that." she smiled.

He just smirked. "So you're ok then. Don't need ta finish?"

"Use your hand. I want you up here, close." she whispered.

He didn't need to be told twice. He reached down and cupped Beth in his hands. She was so hot and wet. Her pussy lips were swollen with desire. In fact it seemed more intense than usual. "Jesus Beth.. I did this to you? I turn you on that much?" He slipped a finger inside and circled her clit. She moaned and nodded unable to vocalize anything at that point. He pushed one finger and then another inside of her and kept him thumb on her clit. She wasn't gonna last. She bucked her hips against his hands.

"Daryl! I'm gonna…. I'm.. " she cried out and dropped back onto the bed.

He stared at her in wonder. This was definitely new or more or something. She lay there with her eyes closed breathing heavily and looking so damn good. He leaned over and kissed her and gently removed his fingers.

"You good now girl?" he looked at her carefully. She was beautiful. Well all of the time, but lying here on their bed drunk off an orgasm he'd given her she was exceptionally beautiful.

"I am.. Promise that we never stop doing that. That it's always that good." she said softly. She closed her eyes.

"I will do my best. You, you are something else.. I love you Beth." he whispered the past part in her ear and kissed her temple. She sighed and put a hand on his cheek.

"I love you too Daryl… so much." He rested his head on his hand and watched her fall back asleep. He started to climb out of bed when she stirred. "Where you going'?"

"Check in with Rick. Go back to sleep for awhile. It's early." he said grabbing his boxers.

"Mmmhhhhmm." she rolled over and her just shook his head.

Daryl came downstairs. He heard voices and found Carol and Rick on the front porch. He saw the strained look on both their faces. "What's goin' on?" he asked.

"Carol thinks Pete is hitting Jesse?" Rick said.

Daryl didn't say anything, just shrugged his shoulders. And Carol gave him a dirty look.

"Really? That's all?" she said angrily.

"Ain't none of our business." he said.

"It's Rick's. He's the constable now. And really Daryl? You think I can let this lie?" she asked shaking her head.

"Sorry. I know ya can't but what's Rick gonna do? Lock him up?" Daryl looked at Rick in his uniform that Deanna had given him. Putting Rick and Michonne in charge of keeping the peace seemed odd since they hadn't been there that long, but Daryl knew they'd do a good job. And maybe learn a few things about Alexandria that would help them. Daryl for one still didn't fully trust the place.

"I don't know either. But something has to be done." Carol took off down the stairs.

"You pissed her off." Rick said lightly.

"I know.. Didn't mean to. What are you gonna do?" Daryl asked.

"I look into. For now." Rick said and he went the same way as Carol. Michonne came out the door a few minutes later.

"Is Beth sick?" she asked Daryl.

"I dunno. She wasn't feeling great last night, why?" Daryl moved closer to the door.

"I heard her. In the bathroom. Sounds sick to me." Michonne eyed him. "You guys are using protection aren't you?"

Daryl's face blanched.

"Yeah I, um hear that too." she smiled a little and went to find Rick. Daryl watched her go. He looked at the door and drug his hand through his hair. Protection? They'd never used anything. Ever. And neither of them had really even thought about it obviously.

"Shit." he muttered under his breath and he opened the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Daryl walked silently back into the bedroom. Beth was just coming out of the bathroom. She looked at him and stopped.

"You sick again?" he asked her and his voice was strained.

"I'm okay." she whispered.

"You ain't." Daryl sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. She didn't say anything, just watched him carefully. "We ain't been using protection.. I.. Jesus I can't believe how fucking stupid.." He looked over at her while she got dressed and tried to imagine what this could mean.

Beth pulled on her jeans and t-shirt. She combed her hair and tried her hardest not to think about what Daryl was implying because thinking about it made it a possibility and this could not be a possibility right now. But it was and she knew it. The brush slipped from her hand and dropped with a thump onto the floor. She'd been fighting off the tears since he walked back in the room. She knew just by his expression and the way he carried his body that he knew something was wrong. He was by her side in seconds.

"Are you?" he asked.

"I don't know." she hiccuped through the tears. "I, my periods have never been regular and since the world fell apart I stopped paying attention. Oh god Daryl.. we can't…. This isn't.." Daryl put his arms around her and rubbed her back.

"S'gonna be fine. We'll do what we gotta." he murmured. And he actually felt calmer saying it. Now that he knew it could be a thing. A thing, a baby. "Now what?" he rested his chin on the crown of her head.

"I don't know. Maybe Pete the doctor guy, maybe he has a pregnancy test in the infirmary." Beth murmured. She just wanted to stand here like this for now. Daryl gently stepped away from her.

"Come on." he took her hand and led her out of the bedroom.

Thinking about bringing a baby into this world terrified Daryl. Sure little ass kicker was awesome. He loved her. He'd do anything for her. That would be magnified by 100 if the child in question was his own. To always be afraid of what could happen? He couldn't imagine feeling how Rick felt when Judith was missing for so long. Well actually he could, because he'd lost Beth too. Okay thinking wasn't helping. It was just making this worse. She might not be pregnant at all. It could be so many other things. Probably was. Why hadn't they used any protection? He remembered hearing Glenn talk about it. He knew that on runs Glenn was always on the lookout for condoms. But that was before Beth. Because before her there had been nothing. He hadn't cared. Sex, love, anything to do with that idea had been the furthest thing from his mind. In fact if he really wanted to be honest with himself it had never been something he thought about. Ever. Until her. Beth made him believe in good things. Even if they were far and few between. And having her with him was the best thing. He loved her even when he didn't know how. And he'd love their child if that's what he had to do too.

"Do you hear that?" Beth stopped in the road. They were almost to Pete's house. The one he shared with his wife and sons. There was yelling, things breaking. Suddenly Rick and Pete came crashing through the front window. Daryl took Beth's arm.

"Stay back." he said and he ran towards the two men who were now fighting in the street with everyone watching. Daryl heard Rick threaten Pete and realized this was about the fact that he was hitting his wife and apparently his youngest son too. Daryl slowed down and didn't make a move to pull Rick off the guy. Maybe, just maybe he needed to be taught a lesson. Daryl felt a small bit of satisfaction watching Rick pummel him. This was a fair fight, until Rick pulled out his gun. Then Michonne came out of nowhere and clocked Rick upside the head. Daryl helped her carry an unconscious Rick away. The put him in Alexandria's answer to a jail, an unfinished basement in Michonne stayed with him and Rosita took a first aid kit to clean him up.

"What's gonna happen now?" Daryl asked Michonne.

"I guess we just wait and see what Deanna says. Can't be good though? I don't know what he was thinking." she said shaking her head. Daryl stood there biting on his thumb nail. "You worried?" she asked him.

"Nah. Can I talk to you out here?" Daryl said backing out of the room where Rosita was working on Rick's face. Michonne followed Daryl outside. Beth was standing out there apparently waiting for Daryl.

"What's going on?" Michonne asked perplexed. She looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Can ya get in the infirmary? We, uh, we were headed that way when all this shit went down." Daryl said unable to make eye contact with Michonne.

"I'm sure I can. Why? Is something wrong?" Michonne asked and then she glanced at Beth and realization crossed her face. "Yeah. Let me handle things here. I'll, I'll find you." she said. She looked at Beth again and then turned and went back into the basement.

"She knows? How does she know?" Beth looked at Daryl. He shrugged. "Daryl?"

"She heard ya getting sick. She just assumed. Then she was askin' if we were using protection.." Daryl said uncomfortably.

"Oh great." Beth said sitting down on the steps. Daryl sat beside her.

"Nothin' we can do now. Ain't no use worrying about it yet." he said. He watched her sit there with her chin in her hands. He felt an ache in his chest for everything they had been through together. He didn't have a clue that day they'd left the prison together that this was where their journey would someday bring them.

"Daryl.. we can't have a baby. This world, it's not safe for us. How are we gonna keep a baby safe?" Beth wiped her eyes. All she kept thinking about was a tiny helpless newborn. This place was good for now, but she didn't really think good lasted anymore. And she could run and keep running if she had to. That would be a lot harder with a baby.

"We'll do what we gotta, I told'ja that." Daryl said again. Carol, Glenn and Abraham came walking up. Beth and Daryl stood up.

"Is he awake?" Carol asked.

"Dunno.. I haven't been back in there. What's going on?"

"There's going to be a meeting to address what happened and what's gonna be done." Glenn said.

"They kicking him out?" Daryl asked. Beth stepped closer to Daryl.

"We don't know. Deanna says people are scared. They need a chance to ask questions." Glenn said. "Maggie is trying to find out what she can."

"Let's go talk to him." Carol headed into the basement and the others followed.

"Let's go home Daryl." Beth said tugging at his hand.

"Yeah ok." he gave one final look towards the basement and turned and headed home.

A few hours later Beth wandered out onto the porch. Daryl was at Aaron's working in the garage. He had a hard time sitting still unless he was sleeping. Beth felt restless too since they'd come to Alexandria. She had looked forward to going out scouting with Daryl and Aaron. Of course that was before this whole deal with a possible pregnancy. It wasn't safe going out there. If she was pregnant there was no way Daryl was going to let her leave these walls unless they came down. Michonne, Glenn, Maggie and Carol came down the street from the direction of Deanna's house.

"What's going on?" Beth asked. She was pretty good at reading her sisters emotions. Maggie looked stressed.

"Where's Daryl?" Glenn asked.

"He's over at Aaron's. Do you need him?" Beth asked.

"I just want him to know what's going on. I'll go get him." Glenn took off down the street. Carol sat on the steps. She didn't look much better than Maggie.

"There's a meeting like Glenn said, but I don't know what's going to happen. These people are clueless." Maggie said.

"Rick was out of control, but I'll stand behind him whatever the decision is." Michonne said.

"Of course we will." Carol said.

The women were silent, each thinking about what the decision could be and what it would mean if they had to leave. Michonne caught Beth's eye.

"Beth can I talk to you inside?" she said. Beth looked around and saw Maggie and Carol watching them.

"Uh yeah sure." She followed Michonne into the house. When they were in the kitchen Michonne pulled a thin plastic wrapper out of her back pocket. She held it out to Beth.

"There's an expiration date on those and it's a couple months past it, but I think it will be okay." she said.

Beth took it, her hand shaking. "Thank you. I feel really.. dumb. I should have thought about the possibility.." she said.

"You're both irresponsible. But I get it. Love can mess with your head." Michonne told her. Beth felt her cheeks flush. "If you aren't, get some protection ok?"

"And if I am?" she asked softly. Michonne just looked back at her and Beth saw the worry that she felt reflected in the other woman's face. The front door opened and Daryl came in. His eyes rested on Beth and he visibly relaxed. He glanced down at what she held in her hands.

"You gonna do it?" he asked.

"Now?" Beth's eyes widened. The plastic crinkled in her hands. She thought she'd wait until tonight or tomorrow. But really waiting was just prolonging the knowing.

"Go on." Daryl said. He was just as scared as her. He glanced at Michonne. "I'll come up in a minute."

Beth left the kitchen and Daryl stared at the empty space she had occupied. He heard Michonne sigh, but he didn't turn around until he heard the door open and the others coming in. They were going to discuss what their plan was for the meeting tonight.

"Where's Beth?" Maggie asked.

"Upstairs. I'll get her in a minute." Daryl mumbled. Maggie gave him an odd look and he just turned away.

Beth's fingers weren't working as she tried to tear the package with the pregnancy test in it open. She felt the threat of tears and took a deep breath and tried again. This time it worked, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. She'd never done this before but she had pretty good idea.

"Just pee on the stick." she whispered. She sat down and stuck the stick between her legs and waited. It was so hard to go when you were required to. Maybe she should have drank water first. Maybe she just needed to relax. That helped and once she finished she sat the stick on the sink and pulled up her jeans. She turned and looked into the mirror and bit her lip. How long should she wait? She decided to just take a peek.

A plus sign. Plus meant positive. Positive meant pregnant. Her whole body suddenly felt ice cold. She grabbed the stick and raced downstairs. Maybe she should have taken a moment to collect her thoughts, think about the fact that Daryl might not be alone downstairs. She didn't and he wasn't. Alone that is. She held the test out in front of her and rushed right into the kitchen full of people.

Daryl watched her burst into the room. Her face was white and her eyes were huge and bluer than normal. He knew without even seeing it what the test what it said.

"Beth?" he whispered and everyone around them suddenly became silent. He took the stick from her and she ran back out of the kitchen into the small bathroom and he heard her throwing up- again. He looked at the test and then at Michonne because he was absolutely clueless as to what he was seeing. She reached out and took it from him.

"Daryl?" Maggie said. And it sounded a bit menacing in his ears. Everyone else just stared.

"It's positive Daryl." Michonne said.

"What's that mean?" he growled.

"It means Beth's pregnant, it means you got my sister pregnant! What were you thinking?" Maggie's voice was suddenly very shrill and Daryl's ears didn't like it. And everyone was just looking at him. He was sweating and felt the urge to just bolt.

"I wasn't thinking about getting her pregnant! I was just… I.." Daryl stammered.

"Dude stop while you still can. Go check on Beth." Glenn said. He had a hold of Maggie's hand and was trying to lead her out of the kitchen.

"Fuck. Why don't ya'll just go ok. Just leave." he stomped out of the kitchen and into the small hallway outside the bathroom. He could hear Beth on the other side of the door and she was crying softly. His heart sank. He hated when she cried. "Beth? Open the door. Let me in." he said leaning against the door. She stopped crying and he heard a click. He opened the door and found her sitting on the closed toilet seat. Her face was in her hands. He knelt down beside her gently took her hands from her face. She looked at him and the expression on her face was so sad.

"A baby Daryl. A helpless baby. How are we gonna do this?" she sobbed quietly.

"I'm gonna protect ya.. Both of ya. S'my job. You're mine. Baby's… " Daryl choked on that word. He rubbed his eyes and Beth saw the wetness on his cheeks. She reached out and took his face in her hands. She brushed her thumbs across his lashes.

"You're just as scared as me." she whispered. Daryl laid his head in her lap and try as he might he couldn't hold back anymore. Beth stroked his hair. He was a such a good man. And he loved her. He loved her and he'd love his child. "Come on.. let's go upstairs."

Daryl stood and took her hand and they went upstairs. Beth closed the bedroom door behind them and she followed him to the bed. He kicked off his boots and laid down on his stomach. Beth crawled up beside him and curled up in his arms. He buried his face in her hair and spoke softly. "S'my baby. I'm gonna protect it too."


	21. Chapter 21

It was rare that this happened for them. They never laid in bed all day. There were always things to get done and Daryl had a hard time sitting still for very long. But today was different. In fact she was probably more restless than he was. He seemed content to just lay on the bed with her head on his chest or his head on her stomach. A couple of times she thought he had fallen asleep, but when she moved her head to look at him, he was always looking right back at her.

"I don't know what to say. I feel like I should say somethin'." she said quietly.

"Nothin' ta say." he ran his finger up and down her arm watching the goosebumps texture her smooth skin.

"Tell me what your feelin'" she whispered this because it was dangerous territory. She'd probably just get a growl in response.

"I ain't good with feelins', you know that girl." he whispered this back to her because it was so hard to say outloud. She pushed him mercilessly and he always gave all he could to her, but this, right now, he didn't know if he could do this.

"Try, for me, please." Oh shit.. She was looking up at him with those big blue eyes of hers and he wasn't sure how she did it, but somehow they always looked bigger and bluer when she was sad or feeling down or hurt. Which of course made it impossible to deny her whatever it was she thought would make things better.

He squirmed on the bed and cleared his throat. "I'm scared a Maggie. She's gonna kick my ass." he said. Beth laughed out loud and it eased the ball of tension in his stomach and made his heart beat a little faster. Her crying could bring him to his knees, but her laughter made him soar.

"Yer lyin'." her southern accent was really strong when she was feeling out of sorts. But Daryl liked it. "You ain't afraid of her and besides she won't kick your ass. Tell me for real." She rested her chin on her hand and waited. Daryl glared at her. And she just smiled back at him. He bit his bottom lip and tucked a stray curl behind Beth's ear.

"I'm scared. What the hell m' I gonna do with a baby? I don't know how to be a.. a dad. Shit Beth my dad was an asshole. What if I'm like him?" That was really the main thing that worried Daryl. He didn't want to be like his own father. Beth sat up on the bed beside him. She rested her hands on his chest.

"You aren't like him. You aren't.. I already know that. You're good and you're kind and you.. you love me like no one else ever has.." Beth's eyes were filling with tears again. Daryl sat up and took her face in his hands and kissed her. It wasn't a soft gentle kiss. He tangled his hand in her hair and bit her bottom lip. "You're beautiful Daryl and don't you try to kiss me so I'll stop.." she said half into his mouth. He kissed her harder and slid his hand to her hip. ".. stop saying nice things about.. Oh god Daryl.." And Beth gave up and kissed him back just as hard. She climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his chest. He had his hands on both her hips now and he held her against him. She felt him getting hard and she wrapped her legs around his waist and struggled to get the contact she needed. He lifted her up effortlessly and laid her on the bed pushing her legs apart. He crawled between them and gave her what she needed grinding his hard cock against her. Her face was flushed and she was breathless.

"You're beautiful." he breathed looking down at her.

"Don't stop.. I'm.. oh Daryl I'm right there…" she arched her back and gripped his upper arms as her orgasm rocked her body. She dropped back on the bed and he just stared at her in wonder. He had barely done anything. They both startled at a knock on the door.

"We have to meet with Deanna.. You guys coming?" Michonne asked through the door.

"I already did.." Beth said softly and broke out in giggles.

"Shhh!" Daryl covered her mouth. "Yeah, we'll meet you there." he called out.

"Why didn't you say we were coming?" Beth laughed. Daryl just growled and kissed her.

The mood had changed considerably when Daryl and Beth walked into Deanna's courtyard. There were a bunch of Alexandrians there and some of their own group. A definite division between the people was obvious. Rick was missing though and Deanna had just commented on that fact.

"He'll be here." Carol said. She folded her arms over her flowered shirt. Michonne looked at her and then glanced at Daryl. It was obvious to him that neither of the women knew where Rick was. He looked around at the others uncomfortably. Where the hell was Rick? Deanna was going on about giving everyone a chance to hear what Rick had to say and voice their own concerns.

"Ain't nothing gonna happen if he don't show up." Daryl murmured quietly so only Beth could hear.

"Maybe we should go look for him?" Beth said worriedly. Michonne had said she took him clean clothes and that he was planning on being here. Beth watched Daryl's face. He reached for her hand and started walking out of the courtyard. He stopped by Carol.

"We're gonna go look for him." Carol nodded and her eyes briefly met Beth's. The older woman smiled sympathetically and Beth felt herself blush. Carol had been in the kitchen earlier. She knew Beth was pregnant too.

Daryl headed towards the house where they had taken Rick earlier but just before the road to the main gate, they saw him. He was fighting off a small horde of walkers. Daryl pulled his knife and looked at Beth.

"Stay." he said.

She already had her knife in her hand. "No. I'm helping." Daryl just looked at her. And she pushed ahead of him. Rick caught sight of them.

"Someone left the gate open!" he yelled as he grabbed the shredded sweatshirt of the nearest walker and put his knife through it's head. Beth grabbed the arm of a smaller walker and spun it around setting it off balance and when it was on the ground she stabbed it in the temple. Black blood spurted out of the wound and covered her stomach and thighs. She pulled her knife out and stood up. Daryl and Rick were pushing the walkers back towards the gate as they picked them off one by one. Beth singled out another one that was off to the side and before she reached it the smell of it's rotting flesh engulfed her. She held her breath and tripped the thing. It was an old woman in a flowery dress and Beth grabbed her long viney hair and jerked her head back and stabbed her. The walker was so decomposed the head just came apart. That did it for Beth. She stumbled over to the bushes and fell on her knees. Daryl and Rick had just taken down the last walker when they heard Beth gagging. Daryl was at her side in seconds.

"What's wrong?" he knelt beside her.

She tried waving him away. "The smell.. it got me." she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She didn't move to stand up yet, waiting to see if the nausea passed. Rick came up behind them.

"Beth what's wrong?" he asked.

"Just the smell.. sometimes it gets to me." Beth said standing up and wiping her hands on her jeans. It was then that she noticed she was covered in walker blood and that made her stomach queasy again. "I'm fine."

"We need ta get back to.." Daryl started when a shot rang out. RIck and Daryl started running in the direction they thought it came from. Beth followed. They came around the corner and Sasha was coming out of the infirmary. Blood splattered across her shirt, she held a pistol loosely in her hand, her face was stoic until she saw the others and then something in her broke.

"Tyresse.." Beth said. She slipped between Daryl and Rick and climbed the stairs. "Sasha?"

"He didn't make. I had to.. He made me promise." Sasha said. Beth put her arms around the other girl. She didn't say anything. There were never any right words to say anymore. Daryl went into the infirmary and found Tyreese's body on the bed. Sasha had put a bullet in his temple and blood and brain matter was splattered on the wall beside the man. Daryl covered the body with a sheet. When he went back outside Rick had another walker. This time he didn't leave it lying, he tossed it over his shoulder and beckoned to Daryl.

"Let's go to this meeting. Let me show them what happens when people are stupid and soft and don't realize what the real world is like!" he started in the direction of Deanna's house and the others followed. They must have been quite the sight walking in looking like they did. Beth saw the faces of the Alexandrians and even the faces of her own people. They looked horrified.

"Someone left the gate open and unmanned. We fought off a small horde!" Rick dumped the body on the ground and looked at Daryl and Beth who were also covered in blood and grime. "Our lives were in danger but we knew what to do.." Rick started. Suddenly Pete burst in through the side gate wielding Michonne's sword.

"He doesn't belong here! They don't belong here Deanna! I meant for those biters to kill them!" Pete screamed flailing the sword around.

"Pete stop!" Reg stepped forward and tried to disarm the man.

"Reg no!" Deanna screamed. But it was too late, Pete's arm was raised and the sword made contact with Reg's throat. A gaping wound opened up and blood poured out as the man fell to the ground. Pete just stood there stunned. Deanna knelt beside her husband as the blood and his last breathe gurgled out of him. She glanced over at Rick, her eyes were dark and full of pain. Beth shuddered next to Daryl. She'd never seen the woman look so out of control.

"Do it Rick." she said calmly. Rick pulled out his pistol and put a bullet in Pete's head. The rest of the group seemed to realize what was going on and people were screaming and moving back out of the courtyard.

"Go home." Daryl told Beth. She shook her head adamantly.

"No. I'm not leaving you." she said frantically. He didn't argue. He figured it was no use anyway. He took one step forward and put himself between her and the others. Deanna went to Reg and knelt at his side. Spencer joined her.

"Everybody clear out! Go home. Deanna will talk to everyone later." Rick took over. He was constable after all. Did it matter that he had just killed a man? Daryl didn't think it mattered to the people who were going to actually make a difference.

"Rick?" a man called out from across the courtyard. Daryl didn't recognize him but he knew the map the man was holding in his hands. He watched Rick. It was pretty obvious right away that Rick knew this man.

"Morgan?" Rick stared at him and Daryl joined Rick.

"You know him?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I did. Once." Rick said.

Beth stayed back and waited. Maggie came over and stood beside her. Beth glanced over at her, but she didn't say anything. She could tell her sister was trying to figure out what to do or say. RIght now Beth was concerned about Deanna. She hadn't really cared for the woman. This whole facade that Alexandria was could have been different if that woman had just accepted the truth instead of trying to hide behind these walls and play pretend. But now she had lost her son and her husband. Beth knew about loss. Their whole group did. Deanna needed to know she wasn't alone in that.

"I can walk you home." Maggie said tentatively.

"I'm waiting for Daryl. But I think that Deanna might need you. Maybe we should try and get her inside?" Beth asked. She looked at Maggie who nodded back. The two sisters walked over to where Deanna knelt by Reg's body.

"Deanna let us help you inside." Maggie said. Beth knelt close to Reg's head in order to get a good look at the wound and determine if anything else needed to be done. Beth gasped and fell back as Spencer slammed his knife into his father's temple. Daryl saw what happened and was in Spencer's face in seconds.

"The fuck you doing?!" he growled his face inches from Spencer's.

"Taking care of my dad." Spencer got right back in Daryl's face.

"Ya knocked her over, ya didn't need to do that." Daryl's hand went to his hip.

"Daryl, it's fine. I'm fine." Beth said reaching for his arm. Spencer looked at Beth and seemed to notice her for the first time.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." he said to her. Daryl still didn't back down. Spencer looked at Daryl. "I apologized. Back off."

"Ya best watch what yer doin'." Daryl nudged him with his shoulder and Spencer went to swing, but Glen stopped him.

"Enough you two! Spencer let's go. Maggie I'm fine. Please just see to it that Reg's body is handled." Deanna turned and headed for the stairs at the back of her house. Spencer followed her.

Daryl took Beth's hand. "You ok?" he asked.

"Daryl, I'm fine.. Really it was nothing." she smiled up at him and he didn't smile back. She reached up and laid her hand on his chest her smile fading and a look of concern replacing it. "What?" He just shook his head. He glanced at Maggie who was witnessing the entire interaction. He pulled her into a hug and she felt him tremble just a little.

Abraham came up to them. "Should we move the bodies for now? Bury 'em tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah. We got tarps? We also got a few walkers by the gate we need ta get rid of." Daryl told the other man. Abraham nodded. Eugene carried over two tarps and Daryl looked down at Beth. "I'm gonna take care of this and then we'll go home. Stay right here okay." He said. Beth nodded, but she didn't understand. First he wanted her to go home, now he didn't want her to leave without him. So she stayed and waited. She watched Rick with Morgan. Michonne joined them and was listening to the conversation. Carol had wandered off behind Jessie and her boys when they had headed home earlier. Maggie had also disappeared somewhere. Beth hugged her arms to her body and watched as Daryl and Abraham wrapped the two bodies. This was the reality of their world now. The world she would bring a child into. She was covered in the blood of dead things while somewhere deep inside her body and new little life was forming.


	22. Chapter 22

The mood in Alexandria was tense for a few days. Although Deanna supported Rick and what he did, not everyone in Alexandria felt the same. Since they didn't trust Rick they didn't trust any of the group and everyone stayed close to home. Maggie and Rick spent time with Deanna figuring out the future of Alexandria. Daryl chose not to be involved. He trusted Rick's judgement, he'd let him handle that situation and he'd continue to do what he was doing with Aaron.

She was standing at the bedroom window. He knew what she was seeing, usually there were people outside, children playing, life going on. Not today. Today it was quiet and the streets were empty. She fingered the sheer curtain and he could see just by the way she held herself that she was bothered by something. He was also pretty sure he knew what that something was.

"Do you think they'll send us away?" The words were spoken quiet and soft like the breeze coming in through the window, like Beth when she was feeling particularly vulnerable. He looked back down at the gun in his lap, continued cleaning it and shrugged. She hadn't caught him looking, but now her eyes rested on him so he glanced up. Mistake. His gut clenched as Beth rested her hand on her stomach. "It's not safe out there."

"Think it's safe in here?" It wasn't really a question he expected her to answer. He knew it was how he felt. Walls may protect them for a time, at least from the walkers. But there were threats inside these walls and more threats out there that wouldn't be kept out simply by walls.

"Nowhere's safe for long. Everything eventually falls apart." She stepped away from the window and stood next to the bed where he sat. Finished with the gun, he laid it on the bed.

"Get yer pack ready. We're going out with Aaron." He raised his chin and met her eyes.

"Me?" her voice wavered.

"I told'ja I'd take you. Not leaving you here." Daryl said.

"But.. I'm, the baby?" He could see it in her face that she was relieved. She was easy to read, at least most of the time. Staying here without him wasn't what she wanted, even though the rest of her family was here. It was always him. He still couldn't for the life of him figure out why. He hated leaving her before, couldn't fathom it now. Pregnant or not he didn't want to leave her behind.

"I'll protect ya. Both of ya." he mumbled as he shoved the supplies he had on the bed next to him into his pack. He wasn't prepared for the sudden contact her body made with his as she wrapped her arms around him. Nothing was said. Nothing had to be.

Beth begrudgingly agreed to stop at Maggie's to let her know she was leaving. It would have been easier to just go, but Daryl had insisted, said it wasn't right to just disappear. And she had to agree with him on the point. Now she was second guessing agreeing with him as she listened to her older sister's tirade.

"Really? You're going out there in your condition?" Beth sighed. This whole argument was old. Not the topic, but the one where Beth did something and Maggie questioned it. Regardless of what it was.

"I'm fine. It's not like I'm going into labor any day now. And Daryl will be there." Mentioning Daryl might not have been the best choice. Beth bit her lip and squirmed under her sister's penetrating gaze.

"Daryl has done enough already." Maggie said sternly. Beth stomped her foot, (yeah that's how it usually happened in a Maggie and Beth stand-off) and put her hands on her hips.

"Maggie Daryl didn't do this on his own. I was there and a willing participant every time. I'm not a child, we'll figure this out together. I know he's here for me. He loves me Mags, and I love him." Beth gentled her voice when she mentioned love. Maggie just shook her head. Beth knew that she had won this round when Maggie looked up at her.

"I know. I know.. This is just scary. A baby.." Maggie took Beth's hand. "I wish you'd stay here with me. I know you won't.. Just, just be careful okay?"

Aaron was waiting by a car at the front gates when Daryl and Beth met him. He smiled as they walked up and Daryl felt Beth's hand in his relax.

"We ready to do this?" Daryl wondered how Aaron continued day in and day out to have such a sunny disposition. The guy was seriously in a good mood the majority of the time. They were complete opposites in that regard. And it suddenly hit him that he had a little blonde ray of fucking sunshine walking next to him and he couldn't imagine a world where she wasn't right there by his side.

"Thank you Aaron, for this. I hope it's not an imposition." So that was what was bothering Beth. He was so worried about Maggie's reaction he hadn't even thought Beth might have been concerned about Aaron's feelings about her joining them.

"Hey it's no imposition at all. Daryl is excellent at reading people, but I bet a woman's intuition wouldn't hurt one bit." The guy laid it on a bit thick, or maybe he didn't. Maybe he really understood that Daryl needed to do this and he respected his wishes. Whatever it was it made Beth smile, and that was everything.

The road was oddly walker and debris free for the most part. Aaron was able to drive close to the speed limit for once. Beth rolled the window down and put her face in the wind. The sun was shining and when he caught her eye in the passenger side mirror she looked so happy with the sun on her face and the wind blowing her hair he refrained from telling her to roll it up. They came across the signs for the food warehouse by chance and even though Daryl was against it, Aaron and Beth convinced him to take a quick look. They left the car parked out a ways. Better to come in on foot quietly just incase.

Graffitied trailers with flat tires and broken glass that glittered in the sunlight sucked some of the happy mood from the group as they climbed over a mangled gate. Beth was headed for the trailers when Daryl gave a low whistle.

"Best be on yer watch girl." he said eyeing the trailers. She nodded at him but kept going.

"I'll check this one." Aaron swung himself up onto the loading dock of the first trailer and disappeared. Daryl kept his eyes on Beth as she rounded the corner of the other trailer just a few steps ahead of him. He heard her gag and found her with her hand over her mouth and nose in front of a pile of rotting corpses.

"Daryl?!" He was behind her, pulling her back and she was trying to point at something when a crash erupted from the trailer Aaron was checking. Daryl heard the unmistakable moan of walkers and immediately raised his bow.

"It's a trap!" Beth looked back over her shoulder as Daryl guided her away from the trailers. Aaron came running from around the other side of the trailer and waved them towards a ladder leading to the roof of another smaller building.

"Run." He hit the ladder and turned to reach down and help Beth, pulling her small body up and onto the roof. Daryl fought off a few of the closest walkers pushing the inanimate bodies into the others to slow them down. He took a second and gauged the distance to the gate and knew it would be impossible to clear it when he heard her scream.

Beth was breathing fast and swallowing hard, doing her best to keep from puking. Thinking Daryl was right behind her she kept running towards Aaron and reached out when he lowered his hand to her from the ladder. Her knees slid in the gravel that covered the roof ripping her jeans. That was the least of her worries, when she pushed herself up she saw that they weren't alone up here. Walkers on the roof was her last coherent thought as one was on her. It's ragged nails brushed against her hair and she fell again, knees slamming into the gravel and rolling with it. From her vantage point all she saw was legs, she reached out and grabbed an ankle and tripped it. Fumbling for a minute she wrenched her knife from its sheath and buried it in the walkers head.

"I got them." The second walker was already down and Aaron took out the third and pushed it off the roof.

Beth knelt, hunched over, her face close enough that she could make out the small pattern of leaves on the shirt of the walker she had just stabbed. Pain blossomed like fire in her pelvis, she couldn't breath and she couldn't stand up and she was pretty sure she was going to puke.

"Beth?" She heard Aaron from what seemed like so far away before her stomach rolled and her face was buried in that delicate leaf pattern. She was sure she was gonna suffocate, but hands in her armpits pulled her away from the corpse. Aaron knelt beside her, his flannel in his hands and he wiped her face. She dry heaved again and it hurt so bad she choked on a moan. The majority of the puke must have landed in her lap because it was wet and sticky. She tried to wipe it away with her hands.

"Jesus Beth… Daryl! Daryl!" Aaron was calling for Daryl. Something was wrong, his voice sounded funny. Another pain had her wrapping her arms around her middle and was that blood on her jeans? She held out her hands and they were bright red. But walker blood is black, she's sure it is. Black and thick and putrid, Beth's stomach rolled again. It started small, just a whimper, but as realization pushed the to the front of her foggy brain the whimper turned into a scream.

Yanking out the last of his bolts Daryl took off towards the ladder. Aaron was calling him, yelling and he need to shut the hell up. His hands were on the rungs when he took a good look at the other man's face. Pale and scared.

"Beth?" He pushed himself over the ledge of the roof. His brain refused to accept what his eyes were seeing and his legs refused to cooperate. She knelt there in the middle of the roof, walker bodies crumpled up and silent on either side of her small form. Hands held out in front of her, she was looking at them like they didn't belong to her and they couldn't be hers cause they were covered with blood and Daryl tried to yell, couldn't breath until she hunched over again and moaned.

"What happened? What the fuck happened?" And can somebody please make it stop now. He's on his ass in the gravel, pulling her into his lap because she's crying and holding her stomach and she just keeps saying it over and over again, 'the baby'.

"There were walkers up here, I didn't expect them. She took one while I got the other two. I don't know what happened. I wasn't, I wasn't watching. Daryl we gotta get her back to Alexandria." Aaron ran around the roof looking for a safe way down and Daryl knew he should help, but he literally couldn't move. Her hands were on his now and he didn't care about the blood, just wanted it to stop and her to stop crying and he didn't want to hear the word baby.

"Daryl?"

"M' here."

"I'm bleeding."

"I know."

"It hurts so bad."

"M' sorry. I'm takin' ya home."

"The baby." Barely a whisper, but she said it and he didn't want to hear it. But he has to hear because he told her he'd take care of her. Take care of them both. He didn't.

There was a ladder and this time she climbed down it instead of up. The pains had turned into a dull ache and as far as she could tell the bleeding had stopped. She wasn't sure what to think so she just didn't think about it at all. Or at least not much. When they were all three on the ground she felt Daryl's hand at the small of her back and gave him a smile. Because he's so scared. She saw it in his eyes and he's probably already thinking of all the things he could have done differently, and that he should have left her home, and that this is all his fault.

"Where's the car?" Aaron went a little ahead and now he's back. "It's gone." HIs voice was strained and he turned and walked ahead again.

"What the hell?" Daryl followed Aaron to the spot the car had been parked. Beth reached down and felt for her knife. The shape of it reassuring under her hand.

"It was a trap. I told you. That's what it said on the trailer." Beth had tried to point it out to Daryl, but everything was chaos at that point. It was spray painted on the trailer. "Those walkers on the roof, how long were they up there? They were people first." She shuddered because it made sense. Walkers don't climb ladders. People climb ladders.

"Nah.." Daryl shouldered his crossbow. But Beth saw that he was suddenly hyper aware of their surroundings and Aaron seemed to pick up on that too. He fell in next to Daryl and pointed to a heavily wooded area.

"More coverage that way and it's still the direction we need to go." Beth watched as Daryl nodded and they started for the stand of trees across the road. Just like that. It reminded her of how Rick and Daryl had always been so intune with one another.

"Ya feelin' okay?" His hand slipped down from her back and he intertwined their fingers. She nodded because he was watching her.

"I'm okay Daryl." Basically she is. All things considered. Like the fact that her jeans are stiff in the crotch and down her thighs, with dried blood. And Daryl is covered with it too, her blood. It's streaked on their hands even though he tried cleaning it off with water and a rag. There might even be a thumb print on his cheek down low on the jawbone. She avoided looking there. She also didn't tell him about the constant ache and occasional sharp shooting pains that she has felt the entire they've been walking. At this point it was probably already too late.

The coverage that the trees afford offer Daryl some relief from the worry of being seen by whoever or whatever is out there. But that relief was short lived when he saw the blood. Traces of it left on his hands, a stain that has turned her jeans black now as it dries. He knew she lied about the pain. It's still there. And he's fucking angry and somewhere deep inside something was hurting too. He tried to focus on the path ahead of him, the trees, the direction they're headed, anything but what this blood on his hands meant.

"Clearing up ahead." Aaron called over his shoulder. The other man has put some distance between himself and them, giving them privacy Daryl supposes. He's pretty sure Aaron knows what's going on. The bleeding and pains, he has to have figured it out. Or so Daryl thinks. He scanned the trees and saw that there was a break. Maybe they can stop, rest for a minute.

"Daryl.." She leaned against a tree, her hand so small and white against the bark. He didn't know what to do, wasn't sure how to help anymore because he'd already failed. The minute he was within her reach she stepped into the circle of his arms.

"We're gonna stop, rest. I knew you were hurtin'." He can't quite look at her. He wasn't entirely sure why except for the nagging voice in his head that kept calling him a failure, saying he fucked up again and it sounded alot like Merle and his dad. But she had no problem looking at him and her blue eyes harbor something more than pain. He felt her hand on his chest and he's forced to look at her.

"Don't." Obviously she had no trouble reading him either.

"Shoulda left you home. None a this woulda happened, " he mumbled. He raised a hand to his mouth and chewed on a thumb nail. Scrubbing a hand through his hair he let his eyes rest on her face.

"You don't know that!" She leaned into him, pressed her forehead against his chest. "Coulda happened no matter what. Sometimes it does." Something changed when she leaned against him. He felt a slight shift. There's no blame there. She needs him like she needed him before. The reasons are just different now. But Beth needs him.

"I didn't want it like this.. Not like…" He can't get the words out. That's nothing new, it's always been like that, but he wished at times like these, he could just say it. Cause he wanted it out there, wanted her to know that she wasn't alone, would never be alone again as long as he was breathing. Of course she looked at him like she understood. Always easing his pain. Beth accepted him completely with all his flaws.

"Come on. Lets keep moving." He wrapped an arm around her and the followed in the direction that Aaron had taken through the trees and into a clearing.

Beth wrinkled her brow as they stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. She couldn't believe what she saw. Aaron was standing in the middle of the tall green grass petting a horse. A big black horse. He smiled over at her and Daryl. Beth felt a ghost of delight nudge her and she couldn't help the small smile that started in the corner of her mouth.

Daryl must have seen it to.

"Go on." Hand on her back, he gently pushed her in the direction of the horse. She didn't need much encouragement though, the horse was beautiful and her hands ached to touch it's sleek back and soft nose. She watched as Aaron ran a hand down its long neck.

"Come on, he seems really tame. Didn't flinch at all when I walked into the clearing. Just looked at me like I was a friend." Aaron's eyes were lit up like Christmas and Beth couldn't help but feel his happiness.

"You like horses too?" she asked as she stretched out a hand and let her fingers brush the animals velvet nose. He was absolutely gorgeous. Upon further inspection she determined it was in fact a he, a gelding which could have been part of the reason he wasn't skittish.

"Oh yeah. My grandparents had a ranch and they boarded horses. Some of the best summers of my life were spent there." Aaron spotted something on the ground and leaned down to retrieve it.

"We had horses on the farm. I used to ride. They were my only friends for awhile." Beth ran both hands under his mane and he nickered softly. "Are you lonely boy? I think you are. I think you've been out here all alone."

" 'S no good to be lonely. " Daryl's spoke quietly from behind her and she smiled over her shoulder at him.

"Hey look I found a lead rope. And I have a great idea!" Aaron came up to them.

"How's bout we take this ole boy home. Then you don't gotta walk Beth." Daryl said looking at her through his unruly fringe of hair. She turned to him, her hand still resting on the horse's neck.

"Hey that's what I was gonna suggest!" Aaron said. He held a blue rope with a metal clasp in his hands. Beth watched as Daryl's eyes flicked to Aaron and then back to her.

"Yeah? Well I already did." He stood next to Beth and admired the horse.

"You mean it Daryl?" A horse. In Alexandria. That would be a good thing. And they needed more good things. Beth felt her eyes fill up with tears. She nodded and smiled before she turned to him and sobbed quietly into his chest.

"It ain't nothin' ta cry 'bout." He rubbed her back awkwardly. Aaron fiddled with the lead rope in his hands.

"I know.. let's name him Buttons!" Aaron said. Beth felt Daryl chuckle and she looked up at him and gave her head the tiniest shake.

"Yeah, Buttons. 'S a good a name as any." Beth reached up and brushed Daryl's cheek with her palm. She couldn't say but she knew he understood she was thanking him for the horse and for letting Aaron name it.

"Let's go home Buttons." Beth whispered.


	23. Chapter 23

**I just want to thank all of you who favorited and followed this story! I really appreciate it! And thank you for the reviews too! I try and respond in some way to everyone. If I haven't I apologize! Thank you to the guests too! I can't respond to you individually, but the fact that you are reading and reviewing means so much! I think we are getting close to an ending. I have something in sight finally... So we shall see!**

Beth really had no idea if riding the horse home made any difference, but she figured it had to be better than walking. Coming home after dark was good too. Because riding in on a horse in the middle of the day would have definitely stirred things up and Beth didn't want an audience. Actually there was really only one person she didn't want seeing this, Maggie. She'd deal with that when she had too. She just wanted to be with Daryl. He kept looking up at her with the pain she felt in her body in his eyes.

Aaron led Buttons away with the promise to take care of him. Beth looked at Daryl and sighed, he took her hand in his. There were lights on which meant people were awake. They weren't going to go unnoticed.

"Come on." Beth took the lead and Daryl followed. They walked in and of course someone heard the door and came to see. It was Rick and before he could even say anything he took in Beth's appearance.

"What happened?" he asked gently. Beth bit her lip and dropped her head and Daryl stiffened beside her. She didn't know what to say, couldn't say anything and when she shuddered Daryl took her hand.

"Came on some walkers at a food storage place, a lot of 'em. We had ta fight and run and… " he stopped and when he didn't go on, Beth looked up at him. She knew he couldn't. Michonne joined Rick in the entryway. Beth heard her intake of breath, that little gasp because obviously she saw the blood.

"I, I had to fight off a walker and I, it hurt and then there was all this blood.." she wasn't going to be able to get through it either. She turned towards Daryl and he wrapped his arms around her and she just wanted her clothes off and she wanted to wash everything down the drain. She didn't want to stand here and look at their faces, their well meaning faces. She gently pushed away from him.

"I'm gonna go upstairs." She didn't look at anyone, not even Daryl. Stepping around Rick and Michonne she climbed the stairs. Her stiff jeans rubbed against her thighs and once she was in the bathroom she rushed to get them off. She didn't want to feel them or see the blood.

Daryl watched her go, unsure of what to do. His chest felt tight and his head was pounding. He had to do something didn't he? He couldn't just stand here like a fucking idiot.

"No fucking doctor to take her to now? What do I do?" That last part came out sounding like a plea for help and Daryl mentally kicked himself for sounding so helpless even though that's exactly what he felt. Helpless.

"Has she been bleeding the whole time?" Michonne asked. Daryl looked at her, unsure of what to say.

"No. I don' know. I think it stopped pretty quick. But there was so much..." He drug his hand through his hair and looked up the stairs. That's where he needed to be. He needed to see her and hold her and right now he just felt like crying and he couldn't do that here, in front of them.

"I gotta go see her.. " He started towards the stairs.

"I'll see what I can find out." Michonne said. Daryl stopped and turned to her.

"Don't tell Maggie. Let, let Beth do that," he told the woman.

Daryl heard the shower when he walked into the room. The bathroom door was slightly ajar and he saw her clothing in a pile on the floor, jeans once blue were black with dried blood. He tried to avoid looking directly at those stupid pants. He pushed the door open. They were supposed to conserve energy because batteries and gas for the generators were hard if not almost impossible to come by so Daryl knew when he didn't see steam coming from the shower that Beth was "doing her part" and that pissed him off for some reason. Girl deserved a hot shower right now.

"Beth turn on the hot water." He tapped on the glass.

"What?" He could actually hear her shivering. He popped the shower door open an inch. What he saw made him ache, she was standing there small and naked her arms wrapped around her body. Swirls of red and pink water at her feet slowly whirled down the drain.

"Fuck," he swore under his breath and yanked off his shirt at the same time he kicked off his boots. Once he was undressed he stepped into the shower and adjusted the water so within a few seconds it was already warming up. He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

"Ya ain't gonna stand here in the cold." He reached for the soap and lathered it in his hands and gently ran his hands down Beth's arms. He knelt in the warm spray to wash the dried blood from her legs. When he stood back up she turned in his arms. The shampoo bottle was in her hands and they took turns washing each others hair. This is what they did, this was their ritual. Afterwards they stood there letting the water run over them until it turned lukewarm. Beth reached up and turned it off. She followed Daryl out of the shower and he wrapped a towel around her before grabbing his own.

"How ya feelin'?" She was curled up in her towel on the bed, hair wet and tangled around her face. It felt like a stupid question to ask, but he was winging it here, he was lost and felt something settling inside him, taking up space and making him want to lash out and break down at the same time.

"Don't know. I'm just gonna try to sleep," she mumbled. He pulled the comforter over her and tucked it around her. He wanted to ask her more questions, was she still cramping or bleeding? Did she need to eat? Could he do anything at all to make her feel better? But he got the sense that right now she just wanted to be left alone. He understood. It made him feel empty in a way that was somewhat foreign, but also familiar. Maybe she just needed some space. He'd give her that. He'd give her anything she wanted actually.

Michonne was in the kitchen with books spread out before her on the table. She looked up when Daryl came in. Candles were flickering on a pie tin on the table, another way the community conserved energy in case of any emergency. Which was ironic because wasn't life basically one big emergency now?

"Hey, how is Beth?" she asked not looking away from the book in front of her.

"She's sleeping. Tired I guess." He looked at the books. They were medical books and books about pregnancy. "What are ya doing?"

"We don't have a doctor. I'm trying to find any info I can," Michonne said scanning a paragraph. Daryl felt a little lump form in his throat and his cheeks felt warm. He didn't know what to say. Michonne glanced up at him.

"You okay?" she asked her eyebrows raised.

"Mmmhmm.. Thanks for this," he gestured to the books. She patted the seat next to her.

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't found out much, but I know that Beth needs something. Maybe you do too?" Michonne flipped through the pages.

"I just never thought 'bout it. Bringing a baby into this shit," he mumbled.

"I know. It's frightening being responsible for a helpless life when you feel pretty helpless yourself." Michonne said softly. Daryl looked at her pointedly.

"Sounds like you kinda know," he said.

She turned away from the books and sighed.

"I had a son, he was three."

Daryl wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know a lot about Michonne's life before. She kept to herself. Kind of like he did. He certainly didn't know she had a son. And obviously lost him.

"M' sorry bout that." he said awkwardly and she smiled a small smile in his direction.

"It seems like forever ago. Kinda like a dream." She continued to scan the pages of the book in front of her. He watched and reached out and fingered the spine of one of the larger books. It looked like a medical book.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"Sure. I'm just looking for anything to do with pregnancy and cramping or bleeding. Also miscarriage." She glanced at Daryl out of the corner of her eye when she said this.

"There was so much blood. I don't see how.." he said softly.

"It's possible that she could have bled like that and not lost the baby. Unlikely, but still a possibility." Michonne said.

Daryl didn't know how long they'd been sitting there pouring over the books. He wasn't sure if he felt better or worse after all the reading he'd done. So much could go wrong with a pregnancy and to a baby. How were so many people born healthy and normal? All he was able to come up with was they just had to wait and see what happened with Beth. There was no doctor to confirm anything. She could take another pregnancy test and see what the result was, but she needed to wait at least a week or two. Meanwhile they had to monitor any bleeding, cramping, and pelvic pain. Simple right? Not even close.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Michonne asked. Daryl shook his head. It made him uncomfortable and angry, but he couldn't just run from it. It wasn't going to go away because he didn't like it. He couldn't deal with it that way anyway. He would tell her what they had found in the books. He had be the one to do it. He wanted to. He'd sat here and read through everything with Michonne and he wanted Beth to know that this mattered to him. It was his baby too. He felt Michonne lightly squeeze his arm. The unnerved him a little. Physical affection wasn't something he felt comfortable with. He knew what it meant though. She started closing the books.

"I'm gonna take these back and go find Rick." A knock on the door startled them both.

"Oh shit.. Could be Maggie. Tell her we're sleeping." Daryl was definitely not dealing with Beth's sister. He'd leave that to her.

Beth hadn't slept. Not like she wanted to. That deep sleep where you forget everything and everyone and just slip into a little quiet oblivion for a while. She'd tossed and turned and had weird dreams about Judith walking alone on a dirt road. Not to mention the fact that every time she felt any twinge in her body (real or imagined) she got up and went to the bathroom to check for bleeding. She'd finally given up and was sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed drawing circles in her journal. The circles didn't mean anything. It was just a way of relaxing she supposed. That and not thinking too hard about anything. She looked up when the door opened. Daryl came in and sat on the edge of the bed.

"How ya feelin'?" he asked.

She shrugged. She didn't want to feel anything and she was trying very hard not to. But him sitting here right now made that kind of impossible. She could tell he was struggling too. He hunched over on himself and glanced at her from underneath a fringe of hair. He was always hiding behind that hair. She fought the urge to lean over and brush the lock from his eyes so she could really see them. She was a little scared of what she'd see there right now. She knew he was feeling helpless, but she couldn't handle him feeling guilty. This wasn't his fault. Didn't matter what he would have said before he'd gone on with Aaron. She would have followed even if he forbid her. He cleared his throat and the sound broke the silence.

"Michonne got some books, from the infirmary. We read up on stuff.." he said fidgeting with his fingers.

"Stuff? You read up on pregnancy and what's happenin'?" She felt the tears in her throat first.

"Yeah. I, read everything I could find. I don' know Beth.." he was gripping his hands tightly now and biting his lip. She shifted on the bed and sat beside him.

"What did you find?"

"Lots a stuff. Too damn many things.." he rubbed at his face and looked over at her. He looked so sad, she knew a baby was definitely not what he wanted. Not now, maybe never, but when they knew she was pregnant for sure he hadn't shied away. He'd been there. This was happening to him as much as it was happening to her. She slipped her hand in his.

"It's not good. I know. It doesn't feel good. All that blood.." Beth whispered.

"We gotta wait a while and see. Keep track of the bleeding and maybe it was just a fluke thing cause of bein' stressed or maybe, maybe it was a miscarriage and ya... " He was being so strong. Beth could see that. She tugged on his hand and he leaned over, laid his head in her lap. She combed her fingers through his hair and saw his shoulders shaking and felt the wet warmth of tears against her hip.

"Didn't need no damn baby, but I didn't want.. don't want.." He choked on his words and Beth felt her own tears spill over and warm her face. She slipped her hands under his arms and laid back on the bed.

"Come on Daryl, come up here," she whispered and he crawled up beside her into the circle of her arms.

Buttons was an instant celebrity the next morning. Daryl came down stairs with his crossbow on his shoulder and Carl was on his way out with Judith. Daryl gave Judith a little smile.

"Aaron is giving horse rides? You know anything about that?" Rick smiled at Daryl but his smile faltered when he met Daryl's eyes. Daryl knew his face was a mess. Last night hadn't been easy.

"Daryl? Is it Beth?" Rick asked. Daryl glanced at him. Rick was really the only other man that Daryl would even consider opening up to, as much as Daryl opened up. But right now he just didn't feel like it. Talking.

"Nothing's changed. Just hard. I'm goin' out for a while." He avoided looking Rick in the eyes. Having to see the pity and the sadness was just too much. Being in the woods away from everything was what he needed.

He nodded at Sasha and she pulled the gate open. It was still odd that it only took a few steps to put him in a completely different environment than the one behind the walls. The woods weren't exactly quiet. Birds tittered back and forth and the breeze rustled the leaves on the trees, but it was preferable to people and their voices and endless questions. He felt guilty for leaving Beth alone, but she needed to take it easy and she was so much better at the people thing than he was. He needed to get things right in his head so he could help her deal with everything. Life just didn't seem fair. The world they lived in now was like something from a horror movie, even worse cause it was real. But here was Beth basically creating a miracle inside her body, growing another person, one they had created because they loved each other. It was supposed to be something amazing and wonderful, but it would be born into a world where survival was something you had to fight for. And there were no guarantees.

The calm of the woods was disrupted by the guttural moans of walkers nearby and Daryl scanned his surroundings. Shadows in the trees revealed walkers, a lot of walkers. It really wasn't a mystery where they were coming from. The quarry. Rick and Morgan had found it when they disposed of Pete's body. At the time it hadn't seemed to be much of a threat, but they knew eventually it would need to be dealt with. Eventually had come. WIth a bad feeling in his gut, Daryl headed back in to find Rick.

Getting dressed and making herself useful, Beth had decided, would be best right now. Waiting wasn't going to work. Nothing had changed physically except she felt sore, but that could very well be from the running and climbing that they had done when the walkers came out of the truck. She heard voices coming from the kitchen. Maggie and Michonne were in there.

"Hey Beth, I was just thinking about coming up. Michonne told me y'all got back late last night." Maggie smiled at her, but she could see her sister's scrutiny underneath that feigned brightness. Michonne laid her hands on the island and eyed the sisters.

"I'm gonna go see the horse, let you two talk." she nodded and slipped out.

"Horse?" Maggie asked.

"We found a horse on our way back. He's really gentle. I guess Aaron is giving the kids rides or something," Beth said.

"You came back early. I figured it would be a few days before I'd see you," Here it was. Beth sighed.

"Yeah, about that. We had to come back. There were complications." Beth said softly.

"Complications? WIth the run? What happened?"

"We were surprised by a big horde on a stop. We had to fight and run. I, I started bleeding and cramping. So Daryl.. we came home." Beth explained.

"Oh Bethy!" Maggie reached out for her and Beth let her comfort her. "You shouldn't a been out there, Daryl shouldn't have…"

"Stop." Beth moved out of Maggie's arms. "I won't have you blaming him. What happened coulda happened here too. Daryl looked it up, he read about it."

"Daryl read a book? Really?" Maggie laughed harshly. Beth bit her lip and folded her hands on the counter. She felt the tears building up behind her eyes. She looked at Maggie.

"I don't need this right now. I don't know what's going on. We don't have a doctor and Daryl sat up all night looking through medical books trying to find out anything he could to help me. To help us. It's our baby.." she knew that talking to Maggie wasn't going to go well. She was right.

"Well I just think Daryl shoulda.." Maggie started in. Beth rubbed her temples she was ending this now.

"Maggie go home," she said softly. Maggie stopped talking and just stared at her little sister. They both jumped when the front door burst open and Daryl came barging in calling for Rick. He was a little taken aback when he walked in on the two women in the kitchen.

"Where's Ri.. Somethin' wrong?" Daryl was at her side, hand at the small of her back. His presence alone was enough to bring tears to her eyes and she hastily wiped them away.

"Maggie was just leavin' weren't you Maggie?" Maggie pushed away from the island she was leaning against and dropped her hands to her sides.

"Beth, I…" Beth watched her struggle and she felt a pang of guilt.

"What the hell's goin' on?" Daryl's anger startled Maggie and she quickly turned and left, glancing over her shoulder at Beth. But Beth knew where Daryl's anger came from. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him breathing in the familiar smells she associated with Daryl. He brought the woods home with him.

"It's nothing.. Just sisters having words. You need Rick?" She leaned back and looked at his tense face.

He told her what had happened, what he had seen and she felt her adrenaline kick in. The quarry had been thought to be safe for now, contained. She'd even forgotten about it. Now it was a threat and she knew that it was serious because beneath Daryl's anger Beth sensed fear.


	24. Chapter 24

**This is it guys! The final chapter. I needed to wrap it up before it went on too long and lost its meaning. It's my first fic and I can definitely see my growth as a writer. The I read "She Is The Sunlight" and I really see how I have grown. I love writing in this universe. I love Beth and Daryl. I have more stories in the works. And I just want to thank all of you who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this fic as well as my others! You are all awesome! So here it is.. I hope I did it justice.**

When Rick found out he immediately sent out people to see if they could contain them even though Daryl had been pretty clear about the fact that this was not just a regular horde, this was a more walkers than they'd ever seen in one place before. Shortly after the group left Daryl and Aaron followed behind with the RV and more ammo and weapons. Daryl just wanted to vehicle big enough to bring them all back. He doubted they'd be able to do anything out there.

When they group began radioing back that they couldn't contain the walkers Rick called them in. All of them. Aaron and Daryl too. He received a 10-4 from Daryl and Beth felt herself breath again. He promised he'd come back. And even though those kinds of promises weren't supposed to be made, he had. With his hand on her stomach, he promised and she was holding him to it. He hadn't wanted to go without her, but in her condition she was safer here. She knew that. So she just refused to think about anything other than him returning.

The other group that had gone out first never responded. Rick'd been preparing to go out himself, but plans changed and everyone was called together to decided how to fortify the safe zone for as long as possible as well as kill off the vast amount of walkers coming their way. They needed lookouts on the walls, they needed a way to start fires in the woods further out. They needed a miracle.

Beth noticed Maggie lingering by the front door holding tight to one of the radios. Glenn was out there with the first group that had tried to contain the threat. Regardless of the fact that her and Maggie had just gotten into an argument, she knew her sister needed her support. They were both in the same boat right now.

"Maggie?" Her big sister's face was pale and etched with fear. Beth took the radio from her hands.

"He's not answering my calls… He's been responding to them since they left, but he hasn't.." Maggie's eyes were filled with tears even as she tried to swallow them back.

Beth rested her hand on Maggie's arm.

"They're running Maggie, back here. They're coming home. Daryl promised he'd turn around if it got called them in." Beth ducked her head to catch her sister's eye.

"Can't make those kinds of promises Beth." She breathed.

Beth bit her lip and squared her shoulders. She knew that. But sometimes that didn't matter. Sometimes just the fact that it was made was more important.

"Well he did and he'll come back. Daryl has never broke a promise to me and he doesn't make them lightly." The need to defend this promise burned like fire in Beth. He was coming back. Daryl was coming back to her. "Come on. Someone needs to man the gate. Rick didn't send anyone out there and we're gonna need to move fast."

The sister's, already armed with their weapons headed out towards the main gate, the way the others would be coming back in. They ran and Beth felt a stitch in her side but she didn't let it slow her down. She just kept pressing forward and didn't think about anything beyond getting to the gate.

Daryl made a promise to Beth. He said he'd come back. He scanned the roads through the windows as Aaron navigated through the sparse groups of walkers that kept appearing out of the trees. They were coming from that quarry. It should have been contained. Now it was too late. Up ahead Daryl spotted a group on the side of the road, it wasn't walkers and as the got closer he saw Glenn waving them down.

"That's them, pull over and be ready." Daryl raised his bow and opened the RV door. The group made their way over. Abraham and Spencer were carrying someone. Daryl sent bolt after bolt over there heads keeping the walkers behind them at bay. Rosita made eye contact with Daryl and he nodded.

"Tobin. He's bit. It's bad." She climbed in and cleared a place in the back for the men to lay Tobin down. Daryl took out a couple more walkers and followed them into the RV.

"Turn it 'round. We gotta beat this first wave an be ready to take 'em down." He glanced at Aaron who was already maneuvering the huge vehicle to go back the direction they'd come. It was the shortest route and they needed to get back as fast as possible. Glenn joined the two of them at the front of the RV, Daryl saw the look in the man's eyes that meant they'd taken care of Tobin. That haunted look that was there in each of their eyes anytime they had to do this to one of their own. Tobin may not have been with them on the outside before, but he'd been here and he had tried.

"I lost my radio back there. You got one." Daryl handed his to Glenn. "They know we're coming back?" Daryl nodded.

"Let 'em know yer with us." Daryl knew Maggie had a radio and was trying to contact her husband, he'd heard her frantic calls. He also knew that Beth was probably right there too. "Tell 'em we're coming home."

"Maggie.. Maggie. It's ok. I'm with Daryl. We're headed back. Have someone at the gate ready to let us in. We've got a horde behind us." Glenn's voice shook and for some reason that made Daryl feel good. This fucking world sucked but damned if it could rob them of the ability to love each other.

"Ok. We're here already. Daryl's there?" Glenn handed over the radio. A small smile on his face.

"Your turn." He smiled at Daryl.

" 'M here. On the way back." He let go of the talk button and it was her voice that followed.

"10-4." He bit his lip, trying to bite back a smile and he felt Glenn clap him on the shoulder.

"Fuckin' women.." But he smirked a little and he knew Glenn saw it.

Beth scrubbed at her eyes and reached for her knife and readjusted it. Maggie's hand on her arm elicited the sob she was trying to hold back. Her sister wrapped her arms around her and they leaned against the gate waiting for the RV.

"He's keeping that promise Beth, you said.. I'm sorry, 'bout before. I shouldn't have said.." Maggie whispered.

"It's ok Mags.." Lights flickered in the distance on the road. The sun was setting and the trees cast shadows that stretched reaching towards the gate like fingers. Beth shivered and pulled away from Maggie. "They're here. Get ready. I got the gate." Beth waited and yanked the gate back just as the RV got close. Once the vehicle was through she used all her weight and forced it closed again. Maggie raised the barrel of her gun and before she even fired she was joined by the others. Glenn at her side, Rosita and Abraham followed. Beth backed up and reached for her pistol. Daryls hand cupped her elbow and looking up into his eyes she leaned into him a little and he gave her a half smile before looking up at the gate.

It didn't take long for the rest of the community to come out in full force. Guns manned in the clock tower and the lookouts picked off as many walkers as they could. A group joined Beth and Daryl and the rest at the gate. Flare guns were utilized. And after a couple of tries the flares caught fire in the trees outside the walls luring some of the horde away. But it wasn't enough. The dead were still coming and now they were pushing up against the walls. So far Reg's design was holding.

But it wasn't gonna last. Daryl could see that as easy as if it had already happened.

"Come on.." He took Beth's hand and they ran through the people gathered there. Daryl set his sights on Rick and holding on tight to Beth's hand he called out to him.

"Ain't gonna last. We gotta use our escape plan. Get them vehicles packed." Daryl barked out orders as if he was the boss, but the thing was Rick nodded and took the next step. They worked together. A well oiled machine. That's what would save them, had saved them all along.

They had prepared for this day, expecting it to come along sooner or later. Deanna had been brought on board early on, although some what reluctantly. She's always hoped that this place would withstand the test of walkers and time. But Daryl knew better, nothing lasted. Especially something that had been built by people who could barely call themselves true survivors, at least in the beginning. They were learning and quick. Daryl and Beth made their way to the armory. That was their job. Get the weapons. As many as possible and put them on the cart and get them to the RV. Beth reached below one of the cupboards and pulled out two packs stuffed full. Daryl raised his eyebrows.

"I was always prepared for this. Seems like we always gotta leave." She stood and shouldered one pack and held the other out to Daryl. His eyes fell on the front of her, drifted down over her legs. And he sucked in a breath.

"Beth.." Gruff and full of pain, he felt that pain in his throat and watched as she looked down at her legs. And saw what he saw, a splash of red spreading across her upper thighs. She raised her head and their eyes met. He watched as she bit down on her lip.

"I.. we gotta go, I can't.." She shouldered her pack and Daryl watched his girl take a deep breath and reach for the cart full of weapons.

Rest in peace; now get up and go to war.

Epilogue

 _It's been five years according to my calendar. I started it the day we left everything behind in Alexandria. Wasn't like we wanted to. We had no choice. We lost that place to the dead. We were lucky to get away with what we did and most of all we were lucky to get away with our lives. I lost the baby I was carrying. After all the cramping and bleeding that happened while we were on the scouting trip, and then fighting our way out of Alexandria, I knew it was too late. Once we were on the road and safe for the moment, I took another pregnancy test. It came back negative. I know that it was probably for the best, but that never made it any easier. We were so preoccupied dealing with what was going on we never dealt with it. We had to wait until we were here and we could breathe again. There's a cross in the cemetery, it reads, 'Our Little One'. We couldn't decide on a name. I don't think either of us wanted to name it. It had been so hard and happened so fast. But we needed to recognize the little life that it had been. For a long time Daryl blamed himself. No matter how much I cried and begged he wouldn't let it go. So I did. Someone had too._

 _We came here, to this community in Washington DC and we started over. We're basically responsible for ourselves. We were given housing and the possibility of jobs with which we could barter our 'earnings' for the things we needed. We could also plant gardens and hunt and take care of each other. All that was and still is required of us is that we work. The rules were simple in the beginning. And there were people enforcing them and protecting the communities and even though it wasn't always perfect it has slowly developed into the beginning of what civilization looked like before the fall. Actually it's better._

 _We all stayed together in the same neighborhood. We're neighbors and we continue to watch out for each other and take care of one another. Some of the Alexandrians stayed near too. Aaron, Deanna and Spencer. Daryl and I had a wedding, nothing big, just us and our family in the backyard of our new home. We have a home together. And it's good. It's so good. Daryl has always sold himself short in every way, but he is such a good man. And a wonderful daddy. Emma is 4 and Gage is almost 1. We are rebuilding the world and our children are growing up in it. It's gonna be a better world than the one we left behind. The best thing, the most amazing thing, we found each other out there when the world fell apart and we stuck together._

 _I know I lost my faith for a long time, but I've been thinking about a lot of things. My daddy and how he always said, 'If you don't have hope, what's the point of living?' And the fact that I came so close to dying in that hospital hallway, but I didn't. Instead the man I love carried me out of there in his arms and everything changed. I coulda died, or I coulda got out with Noah. The story would have been different then, I think. But it was always gonna be me and Daryl. That was written in the stars. Course I don't tell him that. He'd laugh and his ears would turn pink and then he'd just sit there nudging me with his arm like a silly teenage boy with a crush. Maybe I should tell him, it would be kinda cute._

 _Anyway we're here and we're doing good. We made it. It wasn't easy and we lost so much. But what we do have is precious and we will keep on doing whatever we have to, to hold on to it. We might all be spread out in different houses, but we are a family. We always will be._

 _Beth Dixon_

~fin


End file.
